4.2: Geography, numbers, class, and gender of victims

Question 1

Georgraphy, numbers, class, and gender of victims

how many of the accused were women? (%)

Answer 1

• 80%

Question 2

Georgraphy, numbers, class, and gender of victims

how many were accused in the region between 1645-1647?

Answer 2

• around 700

Question 3

Georgraphy, numbers, class, and gender of victims

where did events start?

Answer 3

• Hopkins’ home territory in Essex
• spread to Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire.

Question 4

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

what did Hopkins initially claim?

Answer 4

• he was kept awake by what he claimed were meetings of witches near his house in Manningtree

Question 5

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

March 1645 they presented their accusations to who? What did they do next?

hopkins and stearne

Answer 5

• local magistrate Sir Harbottle Grimston
• They didn’t act as judges, but began to work together, offering their services as witchfinders to parishes and towns for a fee

Question 6

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

first woman to be accused in manningtree

Answer 6

elizabeth clark
she had one leg and was long suspected of being a witch

Question 7

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

How was Clark investigated? What did they find?

teats, familiars

Answer 7

• they found 4 teats on her
• she was then watched for several nights
• several familiars appeared, including a rabit named Sack & Sugar and a creatire named Jamarma.
• case was published in an anonymous pamphlet

Question 8

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

Chelmsford trials (1): who was guilty?

Answer 8

• nearly 20
• including elizabeth clark

Question 9

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

how did the witchfinders spend much of the 2 years?

:(

Answer 9

• apart
• after initially moving north into Suffolk together

Question 10

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

Suffolk: John Lowes case

who was he?

Answer 10

• 80 years old
• one of the 120 examined in Suffolk
• he antagonised his parishioners at Brandeston

Question 11

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

John Lowes: why was he accused? how was he tested? what did he then admit to?

Ann Annson, swim test, confession

Answer 11

• he defendd Ann Annson, who previously had been accused of witchcraft, and included a claim she as as much of a witch as he was, which was interpreted as a confession
• he was subjected to the swim test, and he floated
• he then confessed to having a pact with the devil, and familiars, one named Thomas, along with sinking a ship off the port of Harwich, resulting in the deaths of 14 people.

Question 12

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

where did Hopkins go next?

Y + N, A, Y, W + D

how many women were tried at Norfolk

Answer 12

• Yarmouth and the Norfolk coast, where he oversaw the interrogation of several arrested witches
• then he went to Adleburgh, Yoxford, Westleton and Dunwich
• in Norfolk, 40 women were tried at the assizes of 1645

Question 13

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

Huntingdonshire 1646

Answer 13

• 8 women were tried

Question 14

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

Kimbolton woman: who was she? what was the major setback H and S faced next?

JG

Answer 14

• notorious for swearing and had been suspected of killing animals
• little is known about her apart from Hopkins’ direct involvement
• Hopkins and Stearne faced a setback when local clergyman John Gaule objected to their presence.

Question 15

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

1647 Norfolk port King’s Lynn: what suprised Hopkins?

what was Hopkins defence?

Answer 15

• stearne was investigating reports in Ely
• Hopkins attended the Norfolk assizes and was subjected to hostile questioning about his activities when officials became suspicious
• he defended himself in The Discovery of Witches published in May

Question 16

The course of events and the geography of accusations 1645-1647

geographical pattern?

Answer 16

• there isnt one
• Hopkins and Stearne followed the money

Question 17

Gender

what was the trend with gender? where did accusations usually come from? even men?

Answer 17

• accusations oftenv centered on female tasks/spaces like the home, the kitchen, nursery, feeding, etc.
• most of the 20% men accused were associated with a female who was already accused

Question 18

Gender

how did gender link to agriculture?

Answer 18

• across east anglia, poor women were involved in dariy farming, so when things went wrong agriculturally, women were vulnerable to being accused.

Question 19

Gender

what was Hopkins particularly concerned about? 2 examples?

Answer 19

• sexual activity with the Devil and suckling of imps
• Margaret Baytes anad Good Smith, 2 of the accused from Suffolk, admitted to feeding imps from treats.

Question 20

Gender

murderers of husbands/children? SS and PC

Answer 20

• Susanna Stegold: found guilty of murdering her husband through witchcraft after an unhappy marriage, which almost certainly involved domestic violence
• Prissilla Collit confessed to killing her children after sleep deprivation
• around 20% of the accused were charged with harming children

Question 21

class

how is class measured

Answer 21

literacy, how each person signed their name

Question 22

class

what did leaving a mark mean?

Answer 22

that they were almost certainly illiterate

Question 23

class

how many Ely witches only left their mark

Answer 23

• 94%
• 6 male, 11 female

Question 24

class

what about in terms of other people involved in the witch hunt: searchers, victims, witnesses?

(ely specifically)

Answer 24

• Searchers: all illiterate, most of the searchers were neighbours of the accused
• victims: more likely to be literate, reflecting the fact many accusations came about after a poor woman was denied charity from a wealthier neighbour
• witnesses: much more likely to be literate, as they were often landowners.

Question 25

# the roles of Hopkins and Stearne qualifications?

Answer 25

none

Question 26

# the roles of Hopkins and Stearne despite this, what were they able to do? expenses?

Answer 26

- quickly and efficiently assess suspected witches - parishes and town councils that recieved them paid them, as well as search women and watchers - horses, lodgings, and food were also paid for

Question 27

# the roles of Hopkins and Stearne how did the carry out investigations? alone? with company? How long did they stay?

Answer 27

- often alone, but also often with other local magistrates or officials, occasionally testifying in court - however, there is no evidence to prove they were present at the executions - ultimately, they only stayed long enough to set legal proceedings in motion, leaving others to continue the cases to trial.

Question 28

# methods used by witchfinders what were they concerned with uncovering?

Answer 28

- relationship with the devil - marks - imps/familiars - other witches known to them

Question 29

# methods used by witchfinders methods used? what were they

Answer 29

- isolation - search women to inspect their bodies - watching - swimming test - other methods though definitely took place

Question 30

# methods used by witchfinders isolation

Answer 30

to make them disorientated and likely to confess

Question 31

# methods used by witchfinders search women to inspect their bodies

Answer 31

evidence of which would be presented in court

Question 32

# methods used by witchfinders watching | how did hopkins defend it? what did he not mention?

Answer 32

- sleep deprivation/being watched on shifts - When Hopkins defended himself in **1647** he claimed sleep deprivation had been discontinued as a method, but watching was essential - he failed to acknowledge here that **suspects were bound to a hard stool by their hands and feet.**

Question 33

# methods used by witchfinders other torture evidenced: Woman from Wattisham? what did she explain?

Answer 33

- confessions recorded in Suffolk indicate a lack of sleep, and intimidation and violence - woman form Wattisham explained to a magistrate she had recieved injuries when one of her imps hurled her out of her chair while she was being watched - it is more likely after sleep deprivation she was possibly hallucinating.

Question 34

# methods used by witchfinders walking as a method

Answer 34

- forced to walk around a room constantly, therefore more likely to become exhausted and confess

Question 35

# methods used by witchfinders the swimming test | Woman from St Neots?

Answer 35

- cheap and persuasive - it was approved by King James I in *Daemonologie* - **Eg.** a woman from St Neots was subjected to this when she was thrown off a bridge into a river by a mob - she floated, signalling her guilt - magistrates were sceptical, her fate is unkown.

Question 36

# the reasons for Hopkin and Stearne's influence and power: Hopkins estimated age? what about his father?

Answer 36

likely around 25 - no older than 28 when he died - his father died when he was in his early teens, and was well respected.

Question 37

# the reasons for Hopkin and Stearne's influence and power: Hopkins what was his family dynamic + what were the implications for his life as a result? However, what happened in the early **1640s**?

Answer 37

- he had 2 older brothers, so was aware he would never inherit the family estate - he would instead have to pursue a career - in the early **1640s** he came into some inheritance and could establish himself in Manningtree - locals may have sought him out as someone who could make a neutral judgement on witches.

Question 38

# the reasons for Hopkin and Stearne's influence and power: Hopkins how were Hopkins and Stearne legitimised? | contemporaries, letters?

Answer 38

- there is evidence contemporaries believed parliament appointed Hopkins as their agent with an official commission to discover witches - there is no doubt he and Stearne would have required letters of safe-passage from a higher power to avoid being apprehended by either side.

Question 39

# the reasons for Hopkin and Stearne's influence and power: Hopkins What does Hopkin and Stearne's journey mirror? | WD

Answer 39

William Dowsing, a parlimentarian who had been appointed 'iconoclast general' tasked with seeking out statues and idols associated with catholicism - it may have been Hopkins and Stearne who were officially backed to follow up on his work in seeking out evil

Question 40

# the reasons for Hopkin and Stearne's influence and power: Hopkins why did Hopkins posess considerable power?

Answer 40

- likely because he was in the right place at the right time - he was puritan, young, enthusiastic, and presented himself as a saviour

Question 41

# the reasons for Hopkin and Stearne's influence and power: Stearne age?

Answer 41

- mid-30s during the craze

Question 42

# the reasons for Hopkin and Stearne's influence and power: Stearne daughter + family?

Answer 42

- he had a daughter with Agnes Cawston, Anne, and likely spent much of his time away from his family when he was involved in the hunt

Question 43

# the reasons for Hopkin and Stearne's influence and power: Stearne when did he die

Answer 43

- **1670** - he lived a lot longer than hopkins.

Question 44

# the reasons for Hopkin and Stearne's influence and power: Stearne was Hopkins actually the senior partner? | warrant

Answer 44

- Stearne actually first recieved a warrant to search suspected witches from the Manningtree magistrates Sir Harbottle Grimston and Sir Thomas Bowes - Hopkins seemingly volunteered to assist him

Question 45

# the reasons for Hopkin and Stearne's influence and power: Stearne how did Stearne feel about his profession?

Answer 45

he was passionate, and likely suggested elderly Elizabeth Clark be subjected to the swim test. though, this was probably blocked by the magistrates.