The truth about the great European witch-hunt, courtesy of Sandra Miesel (who wrote the good stuff in The Da Vinci Hoax), in an article in the September/October 2007 issue of The Catholic Answer:
"During the 300 years of witch-hunts, the Church burned at the stake an astounding 5 million women" (Dan Brown, "The Da Vinci Code," p. 125). Like so much else in "The Da Vinci Code," this statement is flatly untrue.
Indeed, it actually contains five errors: 1) the great European witch-hunt lasted nearly four centuries, not three; 2) the witches were condemned not just by the Church, but also by the state, and by Protestants as well as Catholics; 3) witches were killed by hanging, strangling, be-heading and drowning, not just burning; 4) approximately 50,000 people were executed for witchcraft, not 5 million; and 5) not all these were women -- 20 to 25 percent were males, both children and adults.
Sadly, Dan Brown's falsehoods now infect the minds of millions.
I guess we long ago stopped expecting historical accuracy from Dan Brown, but being wrong by a factor of 100! Is that some kind of record for him?
Posted by: LJ | Sunday, August 19, 2007 at 03:52 PM