History A-Level
spectral evidence
What spectral evidence means in History A-Level, as defined for Pearson Edexcel.
Definition of spectral evidence
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Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain spectral evidence in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: Pearson Edexcel
A form of evidence validated by Memorable Providences and used by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in the trials.
Topics that use spectral evidence
- Paper 3, Option 33: The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580–c1750 - 5 Cotton Mather and the Salem witch hunt, 1692–93 (Pearson Edexcel A-Level)
Related terms
- Court of Oyer and Terminer
- Decline of witch prosecutions
- Economic crisis
- Elite opinion and legal authority
- Evidence and proof
- Frontier warfare
- Memorable Providences
- Political intervention and pardon
Using spectral evidence in the exam
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