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c1580 beliefs
Popular belief
cunning folk, witches, witchcraft, maleficia, familiars
diabolism, Devil’s mark
concern of educated elite
Professionals:
Judges, demonologists, religious writers convinced
Literature
Daemonologie, 1597 by James VI of Scotland
outlined witches’ characteristics
legal processes for prosecutions
Sceptical publications
Reginald Scot, 1584
Legal systems
crime
encouraged death sentence
Torture accepted across Europe (not technically in England)
increased conviction rates
encouraged naming of ‘accomplices’
hearsay
Key religious figures
concerned about link between witches and Devil
religious tension following Reformation and Counter-Reformation created distrust
Women
more susceptible to Devil
traditional roles
Misogyny
Social and economic conditions
ideal
Inflation, poverty, changes to use of land, disease, harvest failures, starvation, warfare (English Civil War), weather conditions (‘Little Ice Age’)
‘age of anxiety’
High-profile witch-hunts
decades after 1580 (North Berwick and Pendle)
Some dubious cases (Boy of Burton 1596-97)
Catholic communities particularly at risk from accusations
c1750
Popular belief
remained among ordinary people
less common among elites
Professionals
Judges, legal writers, religious figures and professionals (Ady and Webster) produced literature expressing scepticism
Some did not deny witchcraft, merely the ways trials were conducted
Science and reason
‘Enlightenment’
rational views (works of Kepler, Galilei, Bacon, Hobbes, Locke, and role of Gresham College and Royal Society)
Central government
(John Holt, Lord Chief Justice) take steps to control prosecution of witches by local judges
Legal systems changed, prohibition of torture in all European jurisdictions
judicial authorities stopped prosecuting witches
laws repealed
1736 - 1604 Witchcraft Act repealed, declared magic and witchcraft not real
Key religious figures
(predominantly Protestant, such as Scot, Harsnett, Webster and Bekker)
reinterpret Bible in moderate way
some continue to promote traditional views
Women
second-class citizens
less of concern for religious writers
legal changes led to a decline in number of women accused
women presented more positively in art
Social and economic conditions
improved
issue of poverty improved by 18th century
less suspicion between poverty-stricken neighbours
growth in insurance among merchant class
High-profile witch-hunts
(Salem, 1692-93) - right until late seventeenth century
Increasing number of dubious cases
Demon Drummer of Tedworth, 1662
Jane Wenham, 1712
development of sceptical attitudes
Fraudulent Cases
Boy of Burton
When?
1596-97
What did the ‘victim’ see?
Green angels and cats
Name of the accuser, and name of the accused?
Thomas Darling, who accused Alice Gooderidge
Who was called to aid Darling? What had he received a warning for?
John Darrell, exorcist and minister, who had falsely accused a woman ten years prior
What event prompted inquiries into the case? Who was involved?
Darrell had worked with William Somers, who had falsely accused Alice Freeman
Confessed at her trial, to the Judge and Archbishop of York
When did Darling reveal his story was untrue?
When examined by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London (Richard Bancroft)
What was Bancroft’s response? When?
1604: Bancroft drew up a canon forbidding clergyman to practise exorcism without a licence
Who, present at the examinations, issued a pamphlet? What year, and under what name?
1599: Samuel Harsnett issued ‘A Discovery of the Fraudulent Practises of John Darrel’
How did the case show continuity?
Thomas Darling’s neighbours (including doctor) believed his symptoms were genuine
Based on accusations of Darling’s neighbours, Alice Gooderidge was arrested
Gooderidge confessed to bewitching Darling
The Pendle Swindle
When?
1634
Name of the boy involved?
10 year old Edmund Robinson
Claimed he saw what in the forest? When?
Claimed he was approached by 2 greyhounds in November 1633
Claimed one of the dogs turned into who?
Claimed one turned into Francis Dickinson, who took him to a witch gathering
Probable reason for creating the story?
Failure to watch his father’s cattle
Names of the 2 magistrates informed?
3 months later, local magistrates Richard Shuttleworth and John Starkier were informed
Aided by his father, how many people did Robinson accuse? How many were found guilty?
Robinson identified 25 women - 17 found guilty
What indicated that there was suspicion?
Report immediately sent to Privy Council - evidently sceptical magistrates
What did the suspicious Privy Council do?
Instructed Bishop of Chester, Henry Bridgeman, to investigate some of the women
Which women?
Four: Jennet Hargreaves, Frances Dickinson, Mary Spencer, Margaret Johnson
Robinson and his father also sent to London
What was found?
Nothing
Who else were the women examined by?
William Harvey (discovered circulation) and King Charles
When was the lie discovered?
Once the father and son were separated, the son confessed
What is one possible reason for why the 1630s had such few prosecutions for witchcraft?
The king may have had a hand in reprieving the accused
The Demon Drummer of Tedworth
When?
1662
Who fraudulently aimed to raise alms for the poor?
William Drury, drummer and ex-Parliamentary soldier
Which JP arrested him? Consequently?
JP John Mompesson, an ex-royalist soldier, arrested him, took his drum, and reported disturbances within his home
Drury supposed to have confessed where?
From prison
Who, of the Royal Society visited the house, which had become a tourist attraction?
Joseph Glanvill visits manor house in January 1663
What was consequently published?
Glanvill’s account in 1688 - ‘A Blow at Modern Sadducism In Some Philosophical Considerations about Witchcraft’
Who had also criticised the case as entirely fraudulent? Who was he supported by?
John Webster, preacher and doctor, published ‘The Displaying of Supposed Witchcraft’ in 1677, claiming it fraudulent
approved by Sir Jonas Moore, the Vice-President of the Royal Society
In which sceptical publication was it further stated to have been false?
Balthasar Bekker’s The World Bewitched (1682-84)
Who else criticised it, in a pamphlet with a long-ass name? When?
John Beaumont’s Historical, Physiological and Theological Treatise of Spirits, Apparitions, Witchcrafts and other Magical Practices (1705)
Who sent his representative to investigate?
Charles II
In which two newspapers did the case appear?
Mercurius Publicus and The Kingdom’s Intelligence
Jane Wenham
When?
1712
Who wouldn’t give Jane some straw?
Matthew Gilson would not give her straw, she cursed him
Who did she report him to?
JP Henry Chalvey
What then happened to Gilson?
Gilson fined one shilling, then livestock and wife fell ill
Who suddenly starts yapping that they’re bewitched?
16 year old Anne Thorney, servant to Godfrey Gardiner, said she ran a mile to collect sticks
Gardiners’ wife claimed she saw Wenham in her fireplace
Wenham’s nickname?
Wenham’s nickname: ‘Wise Woman of Walkern’
How many gave evidence? What was given as evidence?
16 witnesses gave evidence, including 3 local clergymen
ointment found under her pillow was presented as evidence
she stumbled over some words in the Lord’s Prayer
Jury concluded what?
Despite objections of judge, jury found Wenham guilty
Who was the judge and what did he do?
Judge, Sir John Powell, was an outsider, from Gloucester, who was sceptical from beginning
recognised personal grudges
Acquired a royal pardon
Wenham offered what, by who? When did she die?
Offered a cottage by sympathetic Whig politician, William Cowper, where she lived until her death in 1730
Who met with Wenham, subsequently publishing an essay, on what date?
Hutchinson met Wenham after her trial, and reported she was not guilty
Hutchinson’s An Historical Essay Concerning Witchcraft (1718)
did state supernatural phenomena was plausible
Lord Chief Justice Sir John Holt
What dates (occupying post)?
1689-1710
Who was his predecessor, and what did he accept?
Predecessor was Matthew Hale
had accepted dubious testimonies in order to secure convictions
How many cases did he preside over? Name 2 :)
11 witchcraft cases, acquitting all accused
Case of Mother Munnings in Bury St. Edwards in 1694; Sarah Murdock in 1701
In which year did Holt put the accuser on trial, and acquit the accused?
1701 - Holt puts Murdock’s accuser, Richard Hathaway on trial
Met with opposition for acquitting Murdock
Which judge had also been renowned for scepticism? What dates did he occupy? What did he publish, and in which year? Accused of what?
Sir George Mackenzie, Lord Advocate in Scotland
1677 to 1689
1678 publication: Laws and Customs of Scotland in Matters Criminal stated most accused not witches
conceded witchcraft was possible
Accused of atheism by leading bishops
Witchcraft Act
Which act, appealed when?
The 1604 Witchcraft Act, appealed in 1736
Any opposition?
Little opposition in England, some amongst Scottish clergy
What did the new act do?
Aimed to punish fraudulent cases - max penalty of a years’ imprisonment
Declared magic not real
Who was the last witch to be executed in England, in what year?
Last witch executed in England was Alice Molland in 1685
In which year was the final attempt to bring a witch to court?
1717, but it was rejected
In which year were 10 people executed at Paisley?
Scotland, 1697
When was the final execution in Scotland, and who was killed?
1727 - the burning of Janet Horne in a tar barrel
Give an example of continuing belief:
John and Ruth Osborne murdered in 1751 in Hertfordshire, attacked by 4000 people
Leader Thomas Colley arrested and executed
How many people had been executed for witchcraft in Britain?
More than 1,500 people
Sceptical Publications
Reginald Scot
Published what, in which year?
‘The Discoverie of Witchcraft’ in 1584
First work of English scepticism
Argued what? Doubted what? Discounted what?
Argued: witches suffered from melancholia
Doubted: accusations such as cannibalism
Discounted: supernatural phenomena, by revealing tricks
Scot was what?
Radically protestant
Which popular edition circulated?
Popular 1651 edition circulated
Who ordered the copies be burnt? What did they write in response?
James VI order all copies to be burnt
responded with Daemonologie in 1597
Samuel Harsnett
Wrote what, in which year?
A Discovery of the Fraudulent Practises of John Darrel, 1599
Main arguments? Criticisms, claims, main body, questioned?
Criticised: Catholic church’s response to witchcraft
Claimed: Catholic priests carry out miracles as easily as a squirrel can crack a nut
Main section: practises of misleading people with magic, done since ancient times
Questioned: legitimacy of exorcisms
Started a what?
Pamphlet war on witchcraft and possession
Thomas Ady
Followed with ‘A Perfect Discovery of Witches’ in 1662 - attacking the hunts
Quoted by George Burroughs in Salem hunts
Uses Bible as its only source - claims familiars were ridiculous, and that witchfinders were not biblically justified
What, when?
A Candle in the Dark, 1656
Critical of what?
Prevalent public attitudes towards witches being to blame for natural disasters and unexplained events
Followed with what pamphlet?
‘A Perfect Discovery of Witches’ in 1662 - attacking hunts
Used what as it’s principal source, to claim…
Uses Bible as its only source - claims familiars ridiculous, and that witchfinders were not biblically justified
Quoted by?
George Burroughs in Salem hunts
John Webster
What, when?
The Displaying of Supposed Witchcraft, 1677
Agreed with who?
Agreed with Ady about Bible
Main argument?
Believed witches could carry out evil with their own power, not with the devil
Used what to explain witchcraft, in which case?
Used natural causes to explain witchcraft - Roland Jenks 1577
How was it received? Taken seriously by who?
Relatively well received, intellectual debate
Taken seriously by members of the Royal Society due to works on chemistry
Pioneered what?
Methodical approach represented new scientific age
Thorough use of evidence
Balthasar Bekker
What, when?
‘The Enchanted World’ 1691
Who was Bekker?
Dutch clergyman
Main argument?
Stated the devil could not operate on Earth, and that believers in the devil were heretics, believing in ‘two gods’
How did he approach the bible?
Approached bible in an unbiased and reasoned way, believed in the influence of science
Evidence it had a major impact:
131 pamphlets published against him
Put on trial for blasphemy but acquitted
Lost job as minister
Germany banned his book
What happened one month after his death?
He was accepted as a Fellow of the Royal Society
What were the Nine Reasons for Change?
Making, Changing, Improving, Improving, Decrease, Strengthening, Fraud, Sceptical, Changing
Making Sense Of Universe And Its Impact
Changing Approach To Human Understanding And Knowledge
Improving Attitudes Towards Women
Improving Social And Economic Conditions
Decrease Of Religious Enthusiasm - End Of Main Religious Wars
Strengthening Royal Authority / Changes In The Law
Impact Of Frauds And Doubtful Causes
Notable Sceptical Publications
Changing Attitudes Of The Elites And Legal Profession
