English Witchcraft
Witches were believed to make a pact with the Devil, pledging to serve him in exchange for magical powers, such as the ability to raise storms, destroy crops, hurt livestock, inflict illness, curse, and kill.
Witches were thought to keep imps or familiars—demonic spirits that took the form of everyday animals and carried out their master’s commands. Witches fed these familiars with their own blood, leaving behind small marks on their bodies known as a witch’s mark or the Devil’s mark. This belief in animal familiars helped create the enduring association between witches and cats, toads, hares, and other small animals.
Several methods were used to “discover” a witch. One involved examining the body for a witch’s mark. Another was the ordeal of “swimming” a witch by dunking the accused in water to see if they sank or floated. Sinking was interpreted as a sign of innocence, symbolizing baptism, while floating was seen as proof of guilt, suggesting the water had rejected the witch.
By the time of the East Anglian witch trials (1645-1647), ‘swimming’ a witch was illegal. It was still used by witchfinders until a judge formally ordered them to stop.
Another means of identification was ‘watching’ where a suspect was deprived sleep to coerce a confession. Suspects might be ‘walked’ about a room to force them to stay awake.
Once sufficient “evidence” was gathered, the accused would be imprisoned and brought to trial. Before 1645, many were acquitted and released. However, during the East Anglian witch-hunt, the number of convictions and executions rose dramatically. In England, witches were executed by hanging rather than burning.
Women made up the majority of suspected witches, but men could also be suspected of witchcraft. Sexism was certainly a large factor in witch trials, but class, age, and local politics also played a significant role.
East Anglian Witch Trials
The East Anglian witch trials (1645-1647) was the largest witch-hunt in English history.
The first English Civil War (1642–1646) had created a climate of fear and instability. The war fueled deep religious, political, and social divisions, heightening belief in the supernatural and paving the way for the witch-hunt that erupted in March 1645.
The most famous figure associated with the witch-hunt is Matthew Hopkins, the “Witchfinder General”. Hopkins and his fellow witchfinder John Stearne travelled throughout East Anglia ‘discovering’ witches. It should be noted that the witchfinders did not act alone, but relied heavily on cooperation from local witnesses, magistrates, and judges to facilitate the prosecution of alleged witches.
Initially, the witch-hunt saw great “success,” with large numbers of executions, but growing opposition soon emerged on legal, financial, and moral grounds. Both Hopkins and Stearne defended their actions in published works and appear to have sincerely believed they were performing a public service.
Hopkins died of tuberculosis in 1647. Stearne participated in a final trial at the Isle of Ely in September 1647, then retired from witchfinding and faded into obscurity.