There were plenty of moments in the history of the Reformation and Counter Reformation where people were wrongly persecuted because of false accusations or because they had ideas that went against the church, and it is for that reason that I believe that persecution was the most important aspect of this time period.
First and foremost, I want to talk about the Trial of Suzanne Gaudry which took place in 1652 which is one of the instances of the church persecuting an innocent life. According to the source material that was presented to us in class it says that, “The trial of Suzanne Gaudry, preserved in oddly meticulous court records, offers a view of a case close to the traditional stereotype of witchcraft persecutions: the pathetic and illiterate old woman, the sabbath, the nocturnal flights, the carnal love of the devil, the effective use of terror and torture to obtain a confession, the recantation and burning at the stake, all brought together in a judicial atmosphere composed half …show more content…
The persecution of many people during this time was used to install fear and stop the progression of both the Protestant and Catholic Churches. The use of torture and fear was something that went a long way during this period of time and many innocent people died and also converted in fear of their lives. So, in conclusion I believe persecution of the people during that time period is the most important thing that happened during the Reformations, because when the church persecuted someone they were able to instill fear into the citizens so they could control