This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ Witchcraft, magic and superstition in England, 1640-70. Valletta, Frederick Victor Alfred The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 11. Oct. 2021 WITCHCRAFT, MAGIC AND SUPERSTITION IN ENGLAND, 1640-1670 PhD Thesis F. V. A. Valletta. King's College, University of London, Strand, London. WC2R 2LS. (o0 11 Abstract of Thesis This thesis examines the relationship between elite and popular beliefs in witchcraft, magic and superstition in England. In particular, these issues are considered against the background of political, religious and social upheaval characteristic of the Civil War, Interregnum and Restoration periods. Throughout the work it is stressed that deeply held superstitions were fundamental to belief in witches, the devil, ghosts, apparitions and supernatural healing. In addition the way such superstitions were used by both political and religious authorities is examined. Despite the fact that popular - superstitions were often condemned, it was recognised that their propaganda value was too useful to ignore. A host of pamphlets and treatises was published during this period unashamedly incorporating such beliefs. The employment of demonic imagery and language in such polemics may not have been officially sanctioned, but it had the advantage of at least being easily understood and recognised by most people. The work is divided into an introduction, seven chapters, a conclusion and three appendices. Chapter 1 looks at the religious and political background to witchcraft belief and justifies the period chosen. Chapter 2 analyses the demonological literature of the period and assesses the influence of the devil on people's consciousness, including how the devil was portrayed and what was known of his powers. Chapter 3 examines the way in which reports of the supernatural, such as ghosts, apparitions and monstrous births, were interpreted as prodigies and utilised for religious or political purposes. Chapter 4 assesses the role, influence and methods of unofficial healers, particularly cunning folk and white witches, and examines how they came into conflict with their patients, official practitioners of medicine and the prevailing religious authorities. Chapter 5 is concerned with the legal problems inherent in witchcraft trials, especially the influence the populace may have had on the judicial process. Chapter 6 consists of a local study of a number of episodes of witchcraft, concentrating on Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Somerset. Chapter 7 assesses why people made allegations of witchcraft, and, more importantly, why people may have confessed to witchcraft. The three appendices provide respectively: quantitative data on individual witches gleaned from all the sources examined, an explanation of sympathetic magic, the principles and beliefs concerning humoural medicine. 111 Table of Contents ABSTRACTOF THESIS.................................................................................................. u TABLEOF CONTENTS.................................................................................................. LISTOF FIGURES......................................................................................................... Iv LISTOF TABLES...........................................................................................................V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... vi GLOSSARY.................................................................................................................VII ABBREVIATIONS....................................................................................................... Vifi INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1 Ti-IE BACKGROUND TO WITCHCRAFT, MAGIC AN) SUPERSTITION.............................11 CHAPTER 2 THE DEVIL, DEMONOLOGY AND ITS RELATION TO WITCHCRAFT..............................29 CHAPTER 3 GHOSTS, APPARITIONS, AND PRODIGIES: SUPERSTITION OR SIGNS FROM GOD?74 CHAPTER 4 HEALING, CUNNING-FOLK AND WITCHCRAFT.........................................................111 CHAPTER 5 WITCHCRAFT, LAW AND POPULAR BELIEF..............................................................151 CHAPTER 6 THEPRACTICE OF WITCHCRAFT..............................................................................183 CHAPTER 7 PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECFS TO WITCHCRAFT AND POPULAR BELIEF 1640 TO 1670.. 228 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................265 APPENDIX 1 ALPHABETICALLIST OF WITCHES BY COUNTY..........................................................272 APPENDIX 2 SYMPATHETICMAGIC .............................................................................................288 APPENDIX 3 THEHuMoIJRAL SYSTEM OF MEDICINE..................................................................289 BIBLIOGRAPHY PRIMARYSOURCES..................................................................................................290 SECONDARYSOURCES.............................................................................................308 iv List of Figures FIGURE 1: 'PARLIAMENT'S UNSPOTFED BITCH' ........................................................... 65 FIGURE 2: PRiNCE RUPERT'S MONKEY........................................................................66 FIGURE 3: AN APPARITION SEEN IN THE SKY AT HERTFORD, 1655..............................76 FIGuRE4: THE HEADLESS MONSTER OF MARY ADAMS ..............................................86 FIGURE5: THE MONSTROUS BIRTH AT RATCLIFFE HIGHWAY......................................88 FIGURE 6: A CHARM OF PROTECTION..........................................................................91 FIGURE 7: THE DEMON DRUMMER OF TIDWORTH .....................................................106 FIGURE8: A SEVENTEENTh CENTURY CHARM..........................................................131 FIGURE9: THE WrFCH OF NEWBURY.........................................................................177 FIGURE 10: THE RENDEZVOUS OF WITCHES AT TRISTER GATE (WINCANTON)..........214 FIGuRE11: WITCHEs FLYING ON BROOMSTICKS....................................................... 215 FIGURE12: MATHEw Hopiui'S AND ELIZABETH CLARKE ..........................................216 FIGURE13: ANNE BODENHAM CONJURING UP HER IMPS...........................................223 FIGURE14: THE WITCH JuLIAN Cox......................................................................... 224 FIGURE15: Ti-rE OLD WOMAN OF PALERMO..............................................................241 V List of Tables TABLE 1: SEX OF WITcHEs (ELY) ..............................................................................186 TABLE 2: SEx OF WITcHEs (SOMERSET) ....................................................................188 TABLE3: SEx OF WITcHEs (KING's LYNN) ...............................................................189 TABLE4: SEX OF VIcTIMs AND WrrNEssEs (ELY).....................................................189 TABLE5: INSTANCES OF WITCHCRAFF (ELY).............................................................190 TABLE 6: SEx OF VIcTIMs AND WITNESSES (KiNG's LYNN) ......................................193 TABLE 7: SEX OF VICTIMs AND WITNESSES (SOMERSET) ...........................................194 TABLE 8: INSTANCES OF WITCHCRAFT (GREAT YARMouTH) .....................................198 TABLE9: MARITAL STATUS OF WITcHEs (ELY) .........................................................199 TABLE 10: MANIFESTATION OF BEWITCHMENT IN HUMAN VIcTIMs (ELY)................204 TABLE11: LITERACY OF WITCHEs AN) VICTIMS (ELY).............................................205 TABLE 12: LITERACY FIGURES FOR DIOCESE OF NORWICH, 1580-1700..................... 205 TABLE13: ADMISSION OF GumT (ELY) .....................................................................207 TABLE14: INCIDENCE OF FAMIUARS (ELY) ...............................................................207 TABLE15: PLACE OF ORIGIN OF SEARCHERS (ELY) ...................................................209 TABLE16: PLACE OF ORIGIN OF SEARCHERS (SOMERSET) .........................................211 TABLE17: SEX OF WITCHES AND VICTIMS (BIDEFORD) .............................................224