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Witch trials and witch related accusations were at a high during the early modern period in Britain, a time that spanned from the beginning of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century. Prior to the 16th century, Witchcraft-- i.e. any magical or supernatural practices made by mankind -- was often seen as a healing art, performed by people ...
Her trial in 1712 is commonly but erroneously regarded as the last witch trial in England. [13] The Witchcraft Act 1735 finally concluded prosecutions for alleged witchcraft in England after sceptical jurists, especially Sir John Holt (1642–1710), had already largely ended convictions of alleged witches under English law.
Religious tensions in England during the 16th and 17th centuries resulted in the introduction of serious penalties for witchcraft. Henry VIII's Witchcraft Act 1541 [1] (33 Hen. 8. c. 8) was the first to define witchcraft as a felony, a crime punishable by death and the forfeiture of goods and chattels. [2] It was forbidden to:
Elizabeth Lowys (died 30 March 1565), was an English woman executed for witchcraft. She is known as the first woman to be executed for witchcraft in England after the passing of the Witchcraft Act 1563. [1] She came from Great Waltham in Essex [1] and she was married to the farmer John Lowys of Chelmsford, and was active as a cunning woman. She ...
Frontispiece of The Discovery of Witches, 1647. Elizabeth Clarke appears on the right [1] Elizabeth Clarke (c. 1565–1645), alias Bedinfield, was the first woman persecuted by the Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins in 1645 in Essex, England. At 80 years old, she was accused of witchcraft by local tailor John Rivet.
Witchcraft and Society in England and America, 1550-1750. A&C Black. ISBN 9780826483003. Gibson, Marion (3 November 2018). Early Modern Witches: Witchcraft Cases in Contemporary Writing. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0415215800. Rosen, Barbara (3 November 1991). Witchcraft in England, 1558-1618. University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 9780870237539
Holt greatly influenced the end of prosecutions for witchcraft in England. National Portrait Gallery, London. [88] The last persons known to have been executed for witchcraft in England were the so-called Bideford witches in 1682. The last person executed for witchcraft in Great Britain was Janet Horne, in Scotland in 1727. [89]
Later, the Pendle witch trials of 1612 joined the ranks of the most famous witch trials in English history. [64] The Malefizhaus of Bamberg, Germany, where suspected witches were held and interrogated. 1627 engraving. In England, witch-hunting would reach its apex in 1644 to 1647 due to the efforts of Puritan Matthew Hopkins.