Witch Hunting in Late Medieval Europe

The witch hunting craze was a dark time in European history. It's common to think of it as a medieval phenomenon, but it actually belonged more to the early modern period. Witch hunting really peaked between about 1580 and 1630. But even if the 16th and early 17th centuries were the golden age of witch hunting, the blueprint for it was laid down in the 15th century under very particular circumstances.