On one side of this debate, historians argue that Western European countries feared the knowledge of midwives and equated this to the practice of witchcraft.[28] During this time, the church and state imposed restrictions on midwives, and required that midwives were supervised. Supervisors guaranteed that midwives followed their religious oath against the practice of witchcraft.[28] Additionally, Greilsammer notes that midwives were commonly tried for witchcraft because of their medicinal knowledge. If natural remedies, unknown to the general public, were used, midwives were questioned about their associations with witchcraft.[29]