Introduction

Witchcraft, a perceived belief that a person could summon an evil demon or a spirit to torment and do harm to others was primarily linked to religion given that the medieval Church had the power to punish people accused and tried for sorcery, magic, and witchcraft[1]. Unlike a sorcerer or a person who possessed magic, a witch was believed to have renounced baptism and forged a permanent allegiance with the devil thus giving his/her body, mind, and soul to the devil in exchange for the power and being an instrument for the devil’s work on earth[2]. Before the crime of witchcraft became a secular crime charged in the criminal courts, the Church gave witches penance or banned them through excommunication or physically from the community of believers as they saw them as sinners. Priests were charged with the responsibility of exorcizing people who had been possessed by the evil spirits and demons[3]. Throughout the 16^th C, most individuals held the belief that witchcraft provided more convincing explanations of sudden occurrences such as the death of children or cattle and bad harvests, among other ill-fortunes were as a result of witchcraft rather than the works of God. This made witch hunting to become an obsession among ordinary people and monarchs from 1562-1736.

Elizabeth I, for instance, enacted legislation in 1562 that declared witchcraft to be a capital offense while between 1603-1625, James 1 published a book regarding witchcraft. James I and Henry IV believed that they subjected to sorcery which was a serious offense. The Acts of 1562 and 1604 transferred the power of trying witches from the Church to the ordinary courts. From the late 15^th C to the mid-18^th C, about 200,000 witches went through torture, burning or hanging across Europe. Witch-hunting, especially against old women, became very common especially in the 15^th C until witchcraft was banned in 1736[4].  About 513 individuals were accused of witchery, but only 112 of them were executed between 1560 and 1700. The last witch court execution took place in Devon, England in 1685 while the last trial for a witch was held in Leicester in 1717. However, in 1945, a farm worker in Meon Hill by the name Warwickshire Charles Walton, was murdered and pinned on the ground with a pitchfork as people in his neighborhood believed that Walton was a witch. Upon execution, witches had to be pinned to the ground so that their bones could not fly off causing more havoc throughout history witches. This paper discusses the societal influences that framed the approach taken towards the prosecution of witches in England between 1562-1736

Background of witch prosecution

The approaches taken towards the prosecution of witches can be attributed to the absurd confessions made by accused individuals in the 15^th C. People who were suspected of witchery were accused of using magical powers and demon-driven sexual practices and were therefore subjected to immense torture. This torture made them make alarming confessions such as flying on animals or poles to attend meetings that were called upon and presided over by the devil that appeared to the witches in the form of goats or other animals[5]. Other accused individuals admitted to the absurdity of repeatedly kissing the devil’sorifice as a confession of their loyalty. Some of the defendants also said that they have cast evil spells of their neighbors, caused storms and had sexual intercourse with animals. Other practices that were associated with witchery included witches’ Sabbaths or Sabbats whereby witches were suspected of avoiding attending Christian mass or taking part in the desecration of the crucifix, Eucharist, orgies, and sacrificial infanticide[6]. The most significant number of people who were accused of witchcraft was old women as witch-hunters perceived them as susceptible to the Devil’s blandishments. As such, the distinguishing crime of witchcraft started to take shape gradually.

Pope Innocent VIII, for instance, asserted that devil worshipers across Germany regularly met with the Satan and cast spells that ruined crops, led to infant abortions and death of animals in his papal bull of 1484. Pope Innocent VIII also said that the clergy did not take these occurrences and accusations seriously given that witchcraft had become a threat.  As a result, Pope Innocent VIII requested Sprenger Jacob and Kramer Heinrich who were inquisitors of the Catholic Church to write a full report regarding witchcraft which led to a publication known as “The Hammer of Witches” thus putting to rest the old dogma that sorcerers and witches were powerless in the presence of God, and developed a new conviction that the Church had a duty of hunting down the witches and sorcerers and putting them to death[7]. The Hammer of Witches or the “Malleus” provided hints to prosecutors and judges and suggested that suspects should be stripped completely and search for the mole. The mole was described as a tell-tale indication of consort with demons or familiars or demons. This publication also suggested that the suspects should walk into the court backward to reduce the chances of casting evil spells on officials[8]. This led to dubious witch purge practices in 1562 which included “swimming” and “pricking” and other forms of barbaric torture techniques such as ashanging, burning, pressing and drowning[9].

1562-1736 societal influences

Across Europe, people held different beliefs that led to the identification and prosecution of witches and sorcerers. Executioners and investigators employed a series of barbaric and odd approaches in identifying witches. Every test heavily relied on the defendant’s ability to prove his or her innocence which explains why it was easier for most men and women to admit the most obnoxious and demonic practices simply because the evidence was stacked against them as well as to avoid immense torture[10]. For instance, Elizabeth Francis confessed that her grandmother had given her a white spotted cat that was called Sathan. Elizabeth kept the cat in a woll in a pot fed this cat and lived with it for 15 years as it granted her whatever she wished for including a husband. Eventually, Elizabeth turned the cat into a toad which she used in killing hogs, neighbors cattle, and geese. She had also used the cat to kill her neighbor, her lame husband, and her child.

People believed that demonic misconduct could be proven using specific tests. The most famous among all the tests were the ‘swimming test’ which was primarily a drowning test. In this test, the suspected witch would be escorted to a lake, pond, stream or a river and stripped off their clothes. They would then be dumped into the water, and if they floated they were charged as witches while if they drowned, they were not[11]. The foundation for this bizarre rest was founded on the belief that because witches and sorcerers had denounced the sacrament of baptism, the waters would reject them and they would float. If they had not denounced the sacrament of baptism, the waters would accept them, and they would drown or sink.  In some of the swelling tests, the suspect had a rope tied around them to bring them to the ground after drowning[12]. The water decided the fate of the suspects, and when a suspected witch drowned, they became secure in the thought that they would receive eternal salvation.

James 1 was a firm believer of the water ordeal and the finding of demonic marks. As a monarch, James VI (whose name became James I as the king of England) influenced the beliefs that suspected witches should be subjected to the water ordeal by having their feet and hands bound and be thrown in the water. Upon publishing his book, eight women were accused of the witchery, and none sank providing clear proof they had all pledged their allegiance to the devil.  James 1 perceived himself as an intellect and authority on numerous topics, but witchcraft had caught his attention after several attempts to marry Princess Anne of Denmark without success[13].  The princess was expected to sail to England, but the poor weather made sailing impossible. During this time there were numerous power struggles and plots against leaders making James I believe that someone was preventing him from consummating his marriage with Princess[14]. Dr. Fian, a Catholic member and schoolmaster, was accused of this crime. This made James I publish the “Daemnologie” which strongly advocated for the swimming test and search of marks.

The Prayer Test was another approach used to decide the fate of an alleged witch. This test was founded on the conviction that a witch could not speak or recite the scripture out loud. The alleged witch would be given a scripture from the Bible and especially the Lord’s Prayer and asked to recite. If the suspect was fortunate enough to possess reading skills, then they had a chance to survive which was very unlikely in the medieval age[15]. The problem with this test is that the inability or inability of reading a scripture only proved suspects literacy or illiteracy and not his or her ability to summon evil spirits and demons. Most suspected were very scared of the legal process which made them admit to crimes they had not committed so that their execution would be slow and less painful or humiliating. For instance, being at the verge of facing a slow and painful death from burning may have indeed caused many innocent individuals to fumble when reading the scriptures or merely forget a verse or phrase due to tension. George Burroughs was one of the victims of such an ordeal. Being a priest and having taught the Lord’s Prayer regularly,he was executed during the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts even after reciting the entire Lord’s Prayer on the scaffold as he waited for death.  This recitation was disregarded as further proof that the devil could perform tricks leading to Burroughs execution through hanging.

A third test that was used to identify and execute a witch was the Touching Test[16]. If a person fell into convulsions and fits, they were to be brought into contact with the alleged witch. If the convulsions stopped or slowed, then it was said that the witch had cast a spell on them and if the fits went on it was deemed as proof that the suspect was a not a witch. The problem with this method is that most victims who were mostly children were lying. These children started rumors, but as they spread, they became terrified to admit of their lies and therefore continued with the alleged ‘fits and convulsions’ dismissing the fact that it may result to the death of an innocent person[17]. For instance, Amy Denny and Cullender Rose fell under the ordeal of such lies. These two old women were hanged after a bunch of children claimed to have fits and spams as a result of witchcraft. During the court session, the judge decided to blindfold these children to establish whether the fits would stop or continue if they touched other women. The convulsions would stop after touching different village women in court which was a strong indication that the children were faking the fits, but the two accused women were charged with witchery and hanged anyway.

Fourthly, people believed that they could identify witches through food. Upon infliction with a strange disease or possession by an evil spirit, witch hunters could collect a sample of the victim’s urine[18]. They would then mix the urine with ashes and rye-meal and feed the formed cake to an animal that belonged to the suspected witch. People mostly believed that witches received help from familiars who were animals such as dogs, cats, goats, toads, and frogs. As a result of this societal belief, cats that belonged to suspected witches tried concurrently with the owner and if found guilty both the animal and the witch would suffer a death sentence. Ursley Kemp, for example, admitted to having kept a black cat, white lamb, and a black toad as demonic helpers. This was after a neighbor confessed to hearing an incriminating conversation from Kemp. Some people were convinced that once the familiar ate the cake, they would call their master’s name. One of these cases happened during the Salem witch trials when Tituba made a witch cake to disclose witches responsible for casting a spell on Betty Paris.

Another approach that was used to identify witches was Witch Marks. These were primarily referred to as the reading tests or witch-cakes. It was alleged that witches had a third teat to feed their demonic helpers. People also believed that when a witch accepted to work for the devil, he or she received a mark on their skin to mark their pact with Satan. This approach was most preferred by a witch hunter known as Matthew Hopkins, Witch-Finder General in England[19]. He would strip the victims to the waist and rigorously inspect for the marks or a third nipple. Allegedly, the devil’s marks were insusceptible to pain and were said to change color. As such, some of the witch hunters devised jabbing needles to pierce the suspected marks[20]. Other malicious witch finders came up with spikes that retracted making the accused witch not to feel any form of pain which showed “sure evidence” that the suspect was a true brother or sisters of Satan. Sadly, this outstanding belief in ‘marks’ meant that any person with scars, birthmarks, moles or skin blemishes was at risk of being accused and prosecuted of witchcraft.

Two women who were searched for the devil’s marks included Elizabeth Wright, or her daughter Also, Goodridge. One day, a young Derbyshire boy known as Thomas Darling returned home with fits from a hunt. When the innumerable fits started, Darling said that he would see a green cat and green angles. He would also converse with godly people in between fits which made his illness catch religious attention[21]. The boy also claimed to have overheard a discussion of witchcraft and that he had met a little old woman who was in a broad trimmed hat, black fringe, gray gown, and three warts on her face[22]. This boy also said that he had accidentally offended the woman and in return said rhyming charm condemning the boy to hell[23]. The people who heard this story said with conviction that the witch must have been Elizabeth Wright or her daughter AlseGooderidge as they have been long accused of witchcraft[24]. Also denied the accusation and said that he had never seen the boy, but he appeared to have more fits when Alse was present. The accused and their family members appeared before two judges and were searched for the devil’s marks in the usual revolting manner to no avail, but Alsewas sent to jail anyway. It is said that throughout his sickness which lasted for three month’s his family members and friends mainly doubted that he was possessed.

Conclusion

Conclusively, this paper established the form of hysteria in the approaches used in identifying and prosecuting witches. Innocent individuals condemned themselves with unreasonable and obnoxious courtroom confessions that were substantiated, malicious people and children. One of the witch finders who led to the execution of hundreds of men and women was known as Matthew Hopkins. This witchfinder sold his services for only 20 pounds and guaranteed his work. He was malicious and heartless. During a case that involved Elizabeth Clarke, he forced her to go for four days and night without sleep. From this torture, Elizabeth Clarke confessed that she has imps and familiars as a witch and would disclose the names of other witches.  Such heartless witch finders also used retraceable spikes to prove that a person’s marks were impenetrable to pain.

During the reign of Elizabeth I, the willingness to admit to these bizarre and impossible stories was primarily known as ‘The Theory of Diabolical Agency”. Suspected witches feared the immense torture that they would subject to and admitted to guilt. Before the enactment of the 1562 and 1604 Witchcraft Acts, the church was responsible for charging the witches and conducting an exorcism. The banned and shunned the witches from the community. However, after Elizabeth I enacted the 1562 Act against witches, the common court presided over hearings against witches and sorcerers. The society believed that certain things would help identify a witch. Some of these societal beliefs included the swimming test, the devil’s marks, the cake, and the Prayers test. All these tests were supported my beliefs such as marks marked the pact made between the witch and the devil while the inability to sink was as a result of the witch denouncing baptism. The cake test was believed to make a familiar call a witches name making it necessary for animals to be tried and persecuted along with their master.

Bibliography

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Crane, Elaine Forman. Witches, Wife Beaters, and Whores: Common Law and Common Folk in Early America. Cornell University Press, 2011.

Drake, Frederick C. “Witchcraft in the American Colonies, 1647-62.” American Quarterly 20, no. 4 (1968): 694-725.

Herzig, Tamar. “Bridging North and South: Inquisitorial Networks and Witchcraft Theory on the Eve of the Reformation.” Journal of Early Modern History 12, no. 5 (2008): 361-382.

Jones, Mark, and Peter Johnstone. History of criminal justice.Routledge, 2015.

Levack, Brian P., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America.Oxford University Press, 2013.

Seabourne, Gwen. Imprisoning medieval women: the non-judicial confinement and abduction of women in England, c. 1170-1509.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2013.

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[1]Herzig, Tamar. “Bridging North and South: Inquisitorial Networks and Witchcraft Theory on the Eve of the Reformation.” Journal of Early Modern History 12, no. 5 (2008): 361-382.

[2]Crane, Elaine Forman. Witches, Wife Beaters, and Whores: Common Law and Common Folk in Early America. Cornell University Press, 2011.

[3]Herzig, Tamar. “Bridging North and South: Inquisitorial Networks and Witchcraft Theory on the Eve of the Reformation.” Journal of Early Modern History 12, no. 5 (2008): 361-382.

[4]Crane, Elaine Forman. Witches, Wife Beaters, and Whores: Common Law and Common Folk in Early America. Cornell University Press, 2011.

[5]Bailey, Michael David. Magic and Superstition in Europe: A concise history from antiquity to the present. Rowman& Littlefield, 2007.

[6]Drake, Frederick C. “Witchcraft in the American Colonies, 1647-62.” American Quarterly 20, no. 4 (1968): 694-725.

[7]Bailey, Michael David. Magic and Superstition in Europe: A concise history from antiquity to the present. Rowman& Littlefield, 2007.

[8] rake, Frederick C. “Witchcraft in the American Colonies, 1647-62.” American Quarterly 20, no. 4 (1968): 694-725.

[9]Bailey, Michael David. Magic and Superstition in Europe: A concise history from antiquity to the present. Rowman& Littlefield, 2007.

[10]Levack, Brian P., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America.Oxford University Press, 2013.

[11]Seabourne, Gwen. Imprisoning medieval women: the non-judicial confinement and abduction of women in England, c. 1170-1509.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2013.

[12]Jones, Mark, and Peter Johnstone.History of criminal justice.Routledge, 2015.

[13]Levack, Brian P., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America.Oxford University Press, 2013.

[14] Jones, Mark, and Peter Johnstone.History of criminal justice.Routledge, 2015.

[15]Seabourne, Gwen. Imprisoning medieval women: the non-judicial confinement and abduction of women in England, c. 1170-1509.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2013.

[16]Levack, Brian P., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America.Oxford University Press, 2013.

[17]Levack, Brian P., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America.Oxford University Press, 2013.

[18]Levack, Brian P., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America.Oxford University Press, 2013.

[19] Jones, Mark, and Peter Johnstone.History of criminal justice.Routledge, 2015.

[20]Jones, Mark, and Peter Johnstone.History of criminal justice.Routledge, 2015.

[21]Bailey, Michael David. Magic and Superstition in Europe: A concise history from antiquity to the present. Rowman& Littlefield, 2007.

[22] Jones, Mark, and Peter Johnstone.History of criminal justice.Routledge, 2015.

[23] Seabourne, Gwen. Imprisoning medieval women: the non-judicial confinement and abduction of women in England, c. 1170-1509.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2013.

[24]Jones, Mark, and Peter Johnstone.History of criminal justice.Routledge, 2015.