Breakdown of traditional authority
What Breakdown of traditional authority means in History A-Level, as defined for Pearson Edexcel.
Definition of Breakdown of traditional authority
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Breakdown of traditional authority in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: Pearson Edexcel
Royal authority collapsed and episcopal church courts ceased to function, so the customary checks on accusation and prosecution weakened.
Topics that use Breakdown of traditional authority
- Paper 3, Option 33: The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580–c1750 - 4 Matthew Hopkins and the East Anglian witch craze, 1645–47 (Pearson Edexcel A-Level)
Related terms
- Collapse of legal and church structures
- Cost of prosecution
- Economic crisis and wartime hardship
- Geography of the craze
- Methods and influence of the witchfinders
- Restoration of authority
- Class and gender of victims
- Critique of witch-finding
Using Breakdown of traditional authority in the exam
Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.
Practise History questions
Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.
A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge