According to scholar, J. A. Sharpe “The most efficacious way of dealing with a witch,
at least in the eyes of contemporary officialdom was to accuse her before a court of law, and a
number of cases in our sample show how bewitched people gained relief after their tormentors
were sucked into the legal process”(Sharpe 11). The court systems during the European
witchtrials changed drastically over time. In the beginning, hearsay was an important source of
concrete evidence. Into the later Stuart period, hearsay became a less reliable source of evidence
and witnesses as well as material evidence became more and more essential to convict someone
suspected of witchcraft.
Pamela J. Stewart discusses the differentiation between gossip, …show more content…
Were, like mentioned in the paragraphs above, the accusations
of witchcraft a scapegoat for problems within the community? The women were seen as weak
anyway, being old, poor and according to some resorting to prostitution, they had nothing to
contribute to society, as it were. Why not blame them? The trial involving these three women
was very interesting, the excerpt bellow was particularly revealing to the atrocities they were
suspected of committing:
“These Hellish Agents intended mischief and misery to the person of Mr. Hann: but the Over-ruling Power prevented them; but because they could not be suffered to exercise their Diabolicism upon his body, they thought they would be some other way Reveng 'd; so Witch like, they laid their Diabolical Charms upon his Cattle, so that those Cows that used to give Milk, when they came to be Milked they gave blood, to the great astonishment of the Milkers; but finding themselves Outcasts from everlasting Happiness, they grew insolent in their Cursed Conceits, resolving to make use of that Art which they should so dearly pay for.” (The Tryal).
So much can be debated through this excerpt alone. In conjunction with historical context, …show more content…
Her reputation, which brought her a little money from the sick and from those who had lost valuables, made her at the same time a successful beggar. Those whom she importuned were afraid to refuse her. But she was in constant peril. If she resented ill treatment, if she gave in ill wishes as much as she took, she was sure to hear from it before a stern justice of the peace. It can hardly be doubted that a large proportion, after the Restoration as in every other period, of those finally hanged for witchcraft, had in fact made claims to skill in magic arts. Without question some of them had even traded on the fear they inspired. Not a few of the wretched creatures fetched to York castle to be tried were ‘inchanters’” (Notestein 258).
Having to communicate and cohabitate with people on a daily basis might lead to the same friction that might cause someone to accuse someone of witchcraft. A more specific incident relating to this might be demonstrated by petty “neighborly” conflicts, the aftermath of
“falling out” often led to the precipitation of an allegation (Sharpe 8). According to Stephen
Timmons, “Witchcraft trials periodically split communities apart in England, Scotland, and the colonies” (Timmons 307). Amongst these groups it was the distortion of the actual facts in their efforts to produce
at least in the eyes of contemporary officialdom was to accuse her before a court of law, and a
number of cases in our sample show how bewitched people gained relief after their tormentors
were sucked into the legal process”(Sharpe 11). The court systems during the European
witchtrials changed drastically over time. In the beginning, hearsay was an important source of
concrete evidence. Into the later Stuart period, hearsay became a less reliable source of evidence
and witnesses as well as material evidence became more and more essential to convict someone
suspected of witchcraft.
Pamela J. Stewart discusses the differentiation between gossip, …show more content…
Were, like mentioned in the paragraphs above, the accusations
of witchcraft a scapegoat for problems within the community? The women were seen as weak
anyway, being old, poor and according to some resorting to prostitution, they had nothing to
contribute to society, as it were. Why not blame them? The trial involving these three women
was very interesting, the excerpt bellow was particularly revealing to the atrocities they were
suspected of committing:
“These Hellish Agents intended mischief and misery to the person of Mr. Hann: but the Over-ruling Power prevented them; but because they could not be suffered to exercise their Diabolicism upon his body, they thought they would be some other way Reveng 'd; so Witch like, they laid their Diabolical Charms upon his Cattle, so that those Cows that used to give Milk, when they came to be Milked they gave blood, to the great astonishment of the Milkers; but finding themselves Outcasts from everlasting Happiness, they grew insolent in their Cursed Conceits, resolving to make use of that Art which they should so dearly pay for.” (The Tryal).
So much can be debated through this excerpt alone. In conjunction with historical context, …show more content…
Her reputation, which brought her a little money from the sick and from those who had lost valuables, made her at the same time a successful beggar. Those whom she importuned were afraid to refuse her. But she was in constant peril. If she resented ill treatment, if she gave in ill wishes as much as she took, she was sure to hear from it before a stern justice of the peace. It can hardly be doubted that a large proportion, after the Restoration as in every other period, of those finally hanged for witchcraft, had in fact made claims to skill in magic arts. Without question some of them had even traded on the fear they inspired. Not a few of the wretched creatures fetched to York castle to be tried were ‘inchanters’” (Notestein 258).
Having to communicate and cohabitate with people on a daily basis might lead to the same friction that might cause someone to accuse someone of witchcraft. A more specific incident relating to this might be demonstrated by petty “neighborly” conflicts, the aftermath of
“falling out” often led to the precipitation of an allegation (Sharpe 8). According to Stephen
Timmons, “Witchcraft trials periodically split communities apart in England, Scotland, and the colonies” (Timmons 307). Amongst these groups it was the distortion of the actual facts in their efforts to produce