andie:
I don't know whata a plausible materialist hypothesis is, but so far neither of you has suggested one.
^^^^^ CB: The materialist explanation pertinent here is the materialist explanation for male supremacist ideology in Europe in general at this time,_in general_. That explanation would be in order for men to control reproduction and enslave women for other labors. Witchhunting was a specific expression of general male supremacist ideology. The size of the witchhunt could be "irrational" , in the sense that there doesn't have to be a materialist explanation for any given, specific sudden _jump_ in witchhunting or other expressions of male supremacy.
It's like racism in the U.S. in the early 20-th Century. There is a basic materialist explanation for that racism in general: dividing the working class. At any given time, there might be a surge in lynchings but there need not be a specifically materialist explanation for that surge.