In 15th century England, how easy would it have been for a man to be accused of being a witch?

by jjake101
idjet

Richard Kieckhefer in European Witch Trials: Their Foundations in Popular and Learned Culture, 1300-1500 surveyed all extant published records of witch trials in England, German, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Italy^1 for 14^th and 15^th centuries. I've listed the 15^th centuries entries for England below with citations removed.

Men certainly show up in the trials. We can't say how 'easy' it would have been for any gender to be accused (and tried) of witchcraft - the records are incomplete; and we don't know how incomplete they are.

Presented with this list, it would be easy to draw a conclusion that 'attacks' in government and monarchy through sorcery abound; this would be a bias from the sources because royal records having a better chance of survival over 500 years. We could also look at regional patterns; again, a bias from records of certain township archives surviving for whatever reason.

Measured against the multimillion population of England at the time, we see witchcraft accusations being an absolute rarity regardless of gender.

But, we can see that men do feature here far more than they did in the 16^th to 18^th centuries of the early modern period, where there was a significant shift in gender bias in witch trials. Kieckhefer draws attention to the 'political and ecclesiastical character' of the records of the late medieval era - not only in England but across western Europe - and certainly for this reason alone we would see greater inclusion of men. The early modern era sees a shift in gender which emphasizes a turn towards accusations of neighbour against neighbour (see Robin Briggs^2 )

Notwithstanding the above, the list below paints a pretty amazing picture for the trials that did occur.

1419, Canterbury: Chaplain tried by ecclesiastical court for magic.

1419, England: Joan of Navarre accused by Henry V of attempt to Ell him by sorcery; Joan and clerical accomplice imprisoned.

1426, England: 2 men plus unspecified number of associates accused of sorcery (illness and attempt at death), thus provoking inquiry at royal direction.

1430, London: 7 women imprisoned for attempt on king's life through sorcery.

1430/2, London: Apprehension of woman and 2 men for sorcery, by secular government.

1432-43, England: Accusation before Court of Chancery that priest had injured man's body with sorcery.

1435, Durham: Trial for defamation before ecclesiastical court; 3 men had accused woman of causing impotence through sorcery; woman absolved in ecclesiastical court.

1441, London: Eleanor Cobham (duchess of Gloucester) given penance, Margery Jourdemain burned, and Roger Whiche (or Bollingbroke, a clerk) executed by secular authorities for sorcery.

1444, London: Man placed on pillory by secular court for invocation (dealing with a 'wycckyd spyryte').

1446, Durham: 2 women tried as sorceresses; had allegedly obtained husbands for widows; allowed purgation.

1447 or 1448, Durham: Woman tried by ecclesiastical court as enchanter (incantatrix).

1450, England: Jad Cade tried inter alia for invocation (summoning devil as black dog).

1451 or 1452, Durham: Woman tried by ecclesiastical court for magic.

1452, Durham: Trial in ecclesiastical court for defamation: one woman had accused another of sortilegium, and had spoken of a certain chaplain's profligate infatuation with her (suggestion of love magic).

1465, Norfolk: 2 men tried by royal court for invocation to find treasure.

1470, England: Trial for defamation before royal court; man had accused duchess of Bedford of image magic.

1476, London: Trial for defamation in secular court; man had defamed neighbours in matters of sorcery.

1478, England: [no details]

1479, Scotland: Earl of Mar executed for employing witches to kill James III.

Between 1480 and 1515, England: Woman tried by Court of Chancery for sorcery.

Between 1480 and 1515, St David's: 3 women (Tanglost and 2 others) tried by Court of Chancery for image magic.

Between 1480 and 1514, Southwark: Woman tried by Court of Chancery for image magic.

1481, London: Woman tried by commissary's court for love magic.

I483, England: Jane Shore and another woman tried by ecclesiastical court for sorcery (alleged harm to Richard III).

1492, London: Trial for fraudulent love magic; client sentenced to public penance by ecclesiastical court, and man claiming to serve as agent for magician ordered by court to restore goods given in payment.

1493, London: Woman tried by ecclesiastical court for weather magic, killing by incantation, divination, and other offences.

1496, London: 3 conspirators accused by Frenchman (their own agent) of attempt on lives of royal family and councilors through use of magical substances.

1497, London: Trial for defamation (obscurely worded, but implying theft by sorcery).

 

^1 I have gathered them under modern state names for convenience. The full calendar of witch trials can be found in:

  • Richard Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials: Their Foundations in Popular and Learned Culture, 1300-1500 (University of California Press, 1976), pp 118-147

^2 Robin Briggs, Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft (Blackwell, 2002)