Definition:
The name “the burning times” is often given to the time period between the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries, when European witchcraft persecution was at its high point. Although some estimates put the number of people burned at the stake during this time at several million, recent scholarly studies suggest it may have been closer to a couple of hundred thousand. Contrary to popular myth, no one was ever burned at the stake in America for witchcraft -- the Salem witches were hanged or pressed.
Examples:
During the Burning Times, many non-witches were branded heretics and forced to forfeit their lands.
