n that swept throughout all of Europe, the Western half of the continent proved to be the main theatre of events, probably due to its more populated urban centers. The focus of the study will consequently be of that particular region . The life of a European in the sixteenth and seventeenth century was difficult at best. That time period saw a constant struggle, involving everything from great wars to minor disputes and boycotting, between two religious factions: the Catholics and the Protestants . At a time when the belief in God was constant, the devotion to religion strong and battle worthy, personal beliefs could prove to be dangerously life threatening. Along with these fanatical religious views, the European person also had to survive through food shortages, economic depression, famine, and a plague as destructive as the Black Death that decimated local populations wherever it went . Overall, life proved to be quite difficult for the average European and virtually impossible for the poor.
             Now that the backdrop has been established, I will demonstrate how these two books help to understand life of that era. By comparing the arguments made in each book, the approaches and methods used by the historians, and the evidence used by each author, an understanding of the political, religious and social events of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries can be found.
             One the first steps in comparing the arguments presented in each book is to establish their respective main arguments. Focusing first on Klaits' Servants of Satan, it was evident that the author's main goal was to explain the witch craze by highlighting and interpreting the political, social and intellectual dimensions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries . Secondly, the book by Robert Rapley A Case of Witchcraft, underlined how a specific individual, in this case a Catholic priest named Urbain Grandier, was convicted of witchcraft due to his p...