Mist Over Pendle

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The trials of the Pendle witches in 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history, and some of the best recorded of the 17th century. The twelve accused lived in the area surrounding Pendle Hill in Lancashire, and were charged with the murders of ten people by the use of witchcraft. All but two were tried at Lancaster Assizes on 18–19 August 1612, along with the Samlesbury witches and others, in a series of trials that have become known as the Lancashire witch trials. One was tried at York Assizes on 27 July 1612, and another died in prison. Of the eleven who went to trial – nine women and two men – ten were found guilty and executed by hanging; one was found not guilty. The only negative aspect I found was that it was getting a little bogged down in the beginning with the descriptions of the area. I found that a little tedious but it was obviously meant to set the scene and introduce the different locations in the story.

The role that both close family ties and toxic relationships played in the trials comes into play again when one considers that the star witness during the trial was Jennet, who testified against almost her whole family. Some historians, such as Winsham [78], are prepared to give Jennett the benefit of doubt, pointing that she was clearly being coached by Nowell during the trial. Others such as Lumby point out that Jennet seemed to relish her role a chief witness and the revenge she was unleashing on her own kin: ″ the sweet child seems to have delighted in damming all her family.″ [77] Wilson, Richard (2002), "The pilot's thumb: Macbeth and the Jesuits", in Poole, Robert (ed.), The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories, Manchester University Press, pp.126–145, ISBN 978-0-7190-6204-9 Many of the allegations made in the Pendle witch trials resulted from members of the Demdike and Chattox families making accusations against each other. The situation has been described by one historian as ″ a trial in which one family destroyed the other and then turned suicidally on itself, with children betraying siblings and parents.″ [77] There may have been bad blood between the Demdike and Chattox families because they were in competition with each other, trying to make a living from healing, begging, and extortion. [24] The Demdikes are believed to have lived close to Newchurch in Pendle, and the Chattox family about 2 miles (3.2km) away, near the village of Fence. [33] Findlay, Alison (2002), "Sexual and spiritual politics in the events of 1633–1634 and The Late Lancashire Witches", in Poole, Robert (ed.), The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories, Manchester University Press, pp.146–165, ISBN 978-0-7190-6204-9Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-alpha-20201231-10-g1236 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 1.0000 Ocr_module_version 0.0.13 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA18012 Openlibrary_edition Pumfrey, Stephen (2002), "Potts, plots and politics: James I's Daemonologie and The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches", in Poole, Robert (ed.), The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories, Manchester University Press, pp.22–41, ISBN 978-0-7190-6204-9

Publications in 2012 inspired by the trials include two novellas, The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson and Malkin Child by Livi Michael. Blake Morrison published a volume of poetry, A Discoverie of Witches. [102] See also [ edit ] Anne Whittle (Chattox) was accused of the murder of Robert Nutter. [47] She pleaded not guilty, but the confession she had made to Roger Nowell—likely under torture—was read out in court, and evidence against her was presented by James Robinson, who had lived with the Chattox family 20 years earlier. He claimed to remember that Nutter had accused Chattox of turning his beer sour, and that she was commonly believed to be a witch. Chattox broke down and admitted her guilt, calling on God for forgiveness and the judges to be merciful to her daughter, Anne Redferne. [48] Statue of Alice Nutter in Roughlee The dialogue could be very amusing, the characters of both Roger and Margery made me smile on more than one occasion Anne Redferne was not so fortunate the following day, when she faced her second trial, for the murder of Robert Nutter's father, Christopher, to which she pleaded not guilty. Demdike's statement to Nowell, which accused Anne of having made clay figures of the Nutter family, was read out in court. Witnesses were called to testify that Anne was a witch "more dangerous than her Mother". [56] But she refused to admit her guilt to the end, and had given no evidence against any others of the accused. [57] Anne Redferne was found guilty. [58] urn:lcp:mistoverpendle0000neil:epub:18bf40de-286d-4ea9-b65d-78b3cf3e06ff Foldoutcount 0 Identifier mistoverpendle0000neil Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t5w78f99f Invoice 1652 Isbn 0090017900

The minor elements of romance (after all, she was there to find a dowry if not a husband) were handled delicately and left me smiling You know, i don't really know why i'm so interested in the pendle witches. I first read about them in a large format book called ' Witchcraft and demonolgy' oooh years ago. Ever since i've been fascinated by them. I've never been to the area although i'd love too one day. In 1977 there was a bbc drama called 'The Witches of Pendle' anyone seen that? , and that really increased my interest even more ( terrific drama, wish it was available again). a b "Executions – Lancaster Castle", Lancashire County Council, archived from the original on 25 November 2009 , retrieved 16 November 2009 It's always weird when you realize that what you read is not what you thought you read. I had no idea until today that this story had a historical basis: the Pendle witches of Lancashire. Witches", Lancashire County Council Museums, archived from the original on 3 October 2012 , retrieved 13 May 2012