Matthew Hopkins & the Witch-Hunts of 1645-47: Case Study (Edexcel GCSE History)

Matthew Hopkins & the Witch-Hunts of 1645-47: Case Study – Timeline

Matthew Hopkins & the Witch-Hunts of 1645-47: Case Study – Summary

Between 1645 and 1647, England saw a huge increase in witchcraft accusations. Mass fears of witches’ dark magic led people to hunt for witches in their own communities. Though people had started to fear witches more since the reign of James I, the English Civil War greatly exacerbated these fears. The conflict dramatically altered people’s daily lives. There was an intense atmosphere of insecurity and distrust.

Fearful communities in East Anglia called upon Matthew Hopkins. Hopkins was the so-called ‘Witchfinder General’ who enforced the law on witchcraft. Hopkins played a crucial role in the prosecution and execution of ‘witches’.

What were the Witch-Hunts?

• The ‘witch-hunts’ were the active attempts of people to discover witches in society

• People believed that witches practised harmful magic against their neighbours or livestock

• Hundreds were investigated:

  • Mostly women

    • Especially the elderly, poor and disabled

  • A few men

    • Mostly clergy

• They were concentrated in particular areas, especially East Anglia

Reasons for 1645-47 Witch-Hunts

• Witchcraft was a serious crime throughout the early modern era

• It became even more serious in the 1640s

Civil War

• The impact of the Civil War contributed to the 1645-47 witch-hunts:

  • Political

    • The control of local authorities was significantly weakened

    • For instance, the fighting stopped royal judges from being able to travel as easily to judge cases

    • In some areas, law and order completely collapsed

    • Many locals took cases into their own hands

    • Witchcraft accusations allowed authorities to reassert some control

  • Social

    • Husbands went away to fight

    • This left many women alone or widowed

    • These women were more vulnerable to witchcraft accusations

    • People also travelled more with armies or to look for work

    • Towns and villages therefore had more strangers in them

    • This increased feelings of suspicion

  • Religious

    • The divide between Catholics and Protestants became stronger

    • Puritan Parliamentarians accused Royalists of witchcraft

    • This is because some Royalists were Catholics

Individuals

• The influence of specific individuals contributed to the 1645-47 witch-hunts:

• James I

  • King of England, Scotland and Ireland

  • Encouraged witch-hunting throughout his reign

  • Argued that witchcraft was a crime against both the monarch and God

  • His fear of witchcraft created panic throughout England

• Matthew Hopkins

  • A lawyer and self-proclaimed ‘Witchfinder General’

  • Stirred up mass panic and fear of witches through

    • His writings

    • His prosecutions

  • Without Hopkins, witchcraft accusations may not have increased

Law Enforcement: Matthew Hopkins

Hopkins’s ‘work’

• A Justice of the Peace (JP) employed Hopkins to find witches in East Anglia

• He worked with his assistant, John Stearne

• Towns and villages also called on him to rid their communities of witches

• He got paid for each prosecution and he also charged expenses for his time

• Historians estimate that 300 people were investigated for witchcraft because of him

Hopkins’s ‘evidence’

• Hopkins needed evidence to convict people of witchcraft

• He presented the following as sufficient ‘proof’ that people were witches:

  • Confessions

    • Hopkins used torture to extract confessions

    • He would deprive the accused of food and sleep for several days

  • Others’ accounts

    • Children believed to be ‘possessed’ would sometimes make witchcraft accusations

    • Supposed witnesses sometimes came forward and gave accounts of the accused’s witchcraft

    • Other ‘proven’ witches sometimes swore that the accused was a witch

  • ‘Familiars’

    • If a certain creature entered the interrogation room, Hopkins would say that it was a witch’s familiar

    • Typical ‘familiars’ included mice, flies, spiders and cats

  • Physical signs

    • The accused did not bleed after being pricked with a needle

    • Unusual marks on the body, like scars, boils or spots

    • These were considered the ‘Devil’s mark’ from which familiars sucked witches’ blood

    • In reality, these marks were usually from manual labour

  • The ‘swim test’

    • Similar to the medieval trial by cold water

    • The accused was lowered into water with their hands bound and a rope tied around their waist

    • If they floated, they would then be examined for the ‘Devil’s mark’ as conclusive ‘proof’ of their witchcraft

    • This test meant that some of the accused died by drowning

• The image below is of the frontispiece of Hopkins’s 1647 pamphlet, The Discovery of Witches. It features Matthew Hopkins being referred to as the ‘Witchfinder General’. It also shows witches identifying their familiars.
  (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Punishment for Witchcraft

• In the early modern era, witchcraft was a capital offence

  • Hanging was the most common method of execution for those convicted

• Overall, around 1,000 people were executed for witchcraft between 1542 and 1736