17th Century - the Reformation and
the burgeoning new "religion" of science was a
spreading influence across the face of Europe. The Church of
England knew something had to be done to counter a world that
might reach beyond its influence. If not now, perhaps sometime in
the future. And what better counter to the world of reason, than
the world of the supernatural. And what represented the world of
the supernatural on this earthly plain? Well, witches of course (and
perhaps the Catholics as well for good measure).
The call against these woman (and
men) reached a fiery pitch during this century, perhaps brought
originally to fore by James VI-I. His fevered persecutions of
those suspected of dabbling in the black arts and their supposed
attempts upon his life saw no previous equal in Britain. Indeed,
witch trials (and executions) in Scotland alone were second only
to those of Germany (with its much larger population).
The trial of the North Berwick
Witches is particularly notorious. James accused a group of
witches and warlocks of trying to sink his ship as he journeyed
with his new queen from Denmark to Scotland by casting spells
that brought up terrible storms (that did manage to sink his
wedding/treasure ship). The tenor of the prosecution and
subsequent trial set the stage for what was to come in the
decades ahead.
15th Century Touchstone
Pope Innocent VIII issued his
notorious Papal bull of 1484: Summis Desiderates. So salacious
and shocking was it, that it was used as a preface to the book
Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches), published by two
German Catholic Inquisitors in 1486. In it, it described in
detail ritual satanic and sexual aberrations as practiced by
witches - women in particular. In fact, pointedly and
deliberately so. What else were all these people afraid of? A
changing world? Women's place within it? A power structure
altering away from the Churches of Europe (the largest landowners
on the continent)?
1645-1647 The
Reign of Matthew's Terror
For such a notorious character,
surprisingly little is k nown of Matthew Hopkins prior to his
moving onto the bloody stage as (self-appointed) Witchfinder
General. The English Civil war was still raging across the length
and breath of Britain (much activity generated from Scotland, so
perhaps it is time that history acknowledged it by changing its
name (don't hold you breath).
Even in areas unaffected by direct
military activity, the severity of the times and events carried
tremendous weight - fear and economic upheaval are deadly, self-promoting
friends, and in the countryside of England, sectarian fears (at
the least) unleashed deadly men consumed with a dread focus - the
rooting out of witches.
There is a notion that Hopkins may have been a
lawyer, or at least had some training in the profession, but no
one really know. There are rumors and some documentation that he
was the son of a minister. What prompted this singularly cruel
man? The question begs to be answered, but there are just no good
answers. It could have been the lure of money and cheap
opportunism; a viscous nature uncluttered by remorse, decency or
a bad conscience; perhaps even a misapplied and misinterpreted
religious conviction - but that might be giving him far too much
the benefit of the doubt. He certainly wasn't alone in his
profession - there were others so inclined roving the countryside.
We will probably never know.
One of the first documented cases instigated by
Hopkins was against a woman named Elizabeth Clarke. She was a one-legged
widow, or so the story says (many women who came under suspicion
of witchcraft were widows, or women who had no strong men or
family to protect them), and the Witchfinder General soon had a
confession out of her which stated she was a little too familiar
with her "familiars" - generally considered to be
demons in the guise of earthly beasts (cats, goats, etc.). The
women were often searched for a third teat as proof of satanic
connections (woe be it to anyone who had a not terribly uncommon
superfluous third nipple) - it was this which "nurtured"
the demon.
Other signs and symbols were various marks
found upon the body - any of what we now refer to as beauty
marks, or even boils, and other slight skin imperfections (including
dry skin splotches) made the witch finders highly suspicious -
these were viewed upon as signs of unholy alliance and contracts
with the Devil. To prove his case, Hopkins would insert a needle
into the spot causing immense pain. In England, witches were
often kept awake for days on end till they confessed. Sleep
deprivation is still a technique used by secret police and
military forces, as well as in religious cults, in order to break
down a person's will.
Another well know method to discover a witch,
was to bind the suspect and lower (or drop) them into water. If
they drowned, they were proven to be innocent. If, by some
miracle they did not drown, they were considered guilty - and
then drowned deliberately. Other forms of actual execution were
hanging, burning, and drowning.
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In all it is suspected that Hopkins was
directly or indirectly associated with perhaps as many of 200
executions - if not by his direct "examinations", then
by his murderous, and seemingly omnipotent influence. He even
published a pamphlet explaining how one would uncover a witch.
Finally, some influential people and
institutions began to tire of Hopkins and his ilk. Parliament
itself published their own pamphlet questioning the practices of
witch finder's in general. Even some brave clergymen went on
record denouncing the rather ridiculous and arbitrary methods
used to find these followers of Satan. They even hinted that
Hopkins himself might be a witch!
Stories vary as to whether or not Hopkins
benefited financially from his evil activities - some say he did,
others that he was on a holy quest, and monies obtained were
slight.
The End of the
Witchfinder General
As might be expected, there are two conflicting
stories about the demise of Matthew Hopkins. One states that he
returned to his home village, discredited, were he may have did
in 1648 of consumption. The other tale - probably apocryphal, but
wonderful and fitting if true - is that he himself was accused of
witchcraft, tied and "floated" - and of course drowned.
I guess that proved he wasn't a witch after all.
In the late 60's an English film about Hopkins
was made called Witchfinder General, starring Vincent Price as
Hopkins. Though a low budget affair, it is a reasonably sober
tale dealing with the events surrounding this evil man. In
American it was re-titled The Conqueror Worm after a short poem
by Edgar Allan Poe. I guess they figured Americans wouldn't know
what a "Witchfinder General" was - but what made them
think we would know what on earth a "conqueror worm" was
supposed to be?
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