OCR Specification focus:
‘Reasons for persecution, and the frequency, nature and geography of trials, 1645–1647.’
The witch hunts of 1645–1647 in England, particularly those led by Matthew Hopkins, demonstrated unprecedented levels of persecution, shaped by political turmoil, religious fervour, and local anxieties.
The Background to Persecution
The mid-1640s was a period of instability, dominated by the English Civil War. Breakdown of central authority allowed local initiatives to flourish, enabling individuals like Hopkins and John Stearne to conduct widespread witch hunts.
Collapse of traditional justice and censorship enabled accusations to escalate.
Fear of divine punishment and the Devil was heightened by war, plague, and economic uncertainty.
Communities under stress sought scapegoats, particularly vulnerable individuals, to explain misfortune.
Frequency of Witch Trials
The years 1645–1647 witnessed the most intense wave of witchcraft trials in English history.
Over 300 people were accused, with approximately 100 executions, a far higher number than in previous decades.
Concentrated largely in East Anglia, these trials dwarfed earlier isolated prosecutions.
Trials occurred in quick succession, creating a climate of hysteria where accusations spread rapidly from one village to another.
Nature of the Accusations
Accusations reflected both traditional beliefs and newer religious fears.
Maleficium (harmful magic) was the most common charge, involving alleged cursing of neighbours’ livestock, crops, or health.
Accusations often arose from long-standing community tensions, such as disputes over charity, begging, or land use.
The charge of diabolical pact (agreement with the Devil) became more central, reflecting heightened Puritan religious anxieties.
Maleficium: The use of witchcraft to cause harm, illness, death, or misfortune to others, often through curses or charms.
The language of accusations frequently included references to familiars (animal-shaped spirits serving witches) and Devil’s marks (supposed bodily marks where a familiar fed). These reflected both popular folklore and legal expectations of evidence.
Geography of Persecution
The persecution of 1645–1647 was highly regional in character.
Most prosecutions took place in East Anglia — counties such as Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire.
Map highlighting Norfolk and Suffolk (core East Anglia) with Cambridgeshire and Essex often included in the wider area. This situates the clusters of trials associated with Hopkins and Stearne in 1645–1647. The map slightly simplifies boundaries but is accurate for regional orientation. Source
Reasons for this geographical concentration included:
The presence of Hopkins and Stearne, who styled themselves as Witchfinders General.
Local authorities’ willingness to commission witch hunts amidst weak central control.
Strong Puritan influence, which reinforced fears of Satan’s presence in everyday life.
Other parts of England saw fewer prosecutions, demonstrating that persecution was not evenly spread.
Processes of Persecution
Hopkins and Stearne employed distinctive methods to pursue and prosecute alleged witches.
Interrogation techniques included prolonged sleep deprivation and enforced watching, where suspects were monitored until a familiar was believed to appear.
Swimming tests (throwing the accused into water to see if they floated) were used in some cases, despite their dubious legality.
Engraved scene of a water ordeal (“ducking”) administered to suspected witches. Though this print dates from the 18th century, it visualises the procedure referenced in mid-17th-century English witch-finding. The specific case shown (John Osborn) post-dates 1647 but demonstrates the same method. Source
Searches for the Devil’s mark were common, often carried out by “witch-prickers” who pricked the skin to test for insensitivity.
These processes often produced confessions that reinforced community fears, ensuring the cycle of accusation and prosecution continued.
Social Composition of the Accused
Patterns of accusation reveal that persecution was not random but targeted certain social groups.
Women made up the majority of those accused, particularly older widows who were poor, marginalised, or reliant on charity.
Men were accused too, especially in cases of suspected coven gatherings, but they were fewer in number.
Many accused came from the lower social strata, lacking protection or influential patrons.
Familiars: Supernatural beings, often imagined as animals, believed to assist witches in performing harmful magic or maintaining their pact with the Devil.
The link between vulnerability and accusation highlights the intersection of gender, class, and local conflict in shaping persecution patterns.
The Role of Hopkins and Stearne
Hopkins and Stearne played a central role in intensifying persecution.
Hopkins assumed the self-styled title of “Witchfinder General”, though it had no legal basis.
Frontispiece from Matthew Hopkins’s 1647 pamphlet The Discovery of Witches, showing Hopkins questioning accused women and their familiars. This illustrates how pamphlets promoted evidentiary expectations—particularly familiars and Devil’s marks—thereby intensifying prosecutions in East Anglia. The page includes additional curatorial notes beyond the syllabus. Source
They travelled across East Anglia, responding to local invitations from magistrates and communities.
Their work was financially lucrative, as communities paid them fees for their services, incentivising large numbers of prosecutions.
Their presence lent an air of official authority to witch-hunting, emboldening communities to pursue accusations more aggressively.
Decline by 1647
By 1647, persecution had slowed due to several factors:
Central authorities began to reassert control, criticising the legality and reliability of the Witchfinders’ methods.
Economic burden: trials were expensive, and communities struggled to sustain the cost of large-scale prosecutions.
Growing scepticism about confessions obtained under duress undermined prosecutions.
These developments curtailed the intensity of the witch hunts, marking the end of the extraordinary wave of persecution.
Key Points to Remember
The 1645–1647 persecutions were unprecedented in scale, with hundreds accused and executed, particularly in East Anglia.
The frequency, nature, and geography of trials were shaped by war, religious fervour, community tensions, and the actions of Hopkins and Stearne.
The pattern of accusations targeted the socially vulnerable, especially women, and was fuelled by extraordinary circumstances of instability and fear.
FAQ
East Anglia was particularly vulnerable due to its Puritan strongholds and the collapse of royal authority during the Civil War. The presence of Hopkins and Stearne amplified fears locally, while other regions either had stronger local governance or less radical religious influence. Geographic isolation and close-knit rural communities also meant suspicions spread rapidly from village to village.
The Civil War destabilised local governance and weakened traditional judicial systems.
Justices of the Peace operated with less oversight.
Armies moving through the region created hardship and spread disease.
Fear of divine punishment increased, with communities blaming witches for misfortune.
This chaos allowed Hopkins and Stearne to step into a power vacuum and conduct investigations unchecked.
Although the majority of accused were women, men were also implicated, particularly when accusations extended to entire supposed covens.
Male cunning folk (folk healers) risked suspicion if remedies failed.
Husbands and relatives of accused women were sometimes charged.
Men linked with livestock disputes or social disorder also faced accusations.
Their inclusion highlighted that persecution was shaped by local tensions more than gender alone.
Communities were often the driving force behind prosecutions. Neighbours brought accusations based on quarrels, suspicions, or misfortunes.
Parish officers and churchwardens gathered testimonies.
Gossip networks spread fear quickly.
Collective pressure on magistrates made prosecutions more likely.
Hopkins and Stearne provided structure, but it was community hostility that fuelled accusations.
Several factors converged:
Financial exhaustion — trials were costly and communities could not sustain fees.
Criticism of Hopkins’s methods from clergy and lawyers, questioning legality and morality.
Reassertion of central authority as the Civil War stabilised.
This combination curtailed local enthusiasm, bringing the extraordinary intensity of witch trials to an end.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
Name two counties in East Anglia where witch trials took place between 1645 and 1647.
Mark Scheme:
1 mark for each correct county named (maximum 2 marks).
Acceptable answers include: Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire.
Question 2 (6 marks)
Explain two reasons why the persecution of witches intensified between 1645 and 1647.
Mark Scheme:
Up to 3 marks for each explanation, linked clearly to the period (maximum 6 marks).
Award 1 mark for identifying a relevant reason.
Award a second mark for providing some detail or example.
Award a third mark for clear explanation of how or why this factor contributed to the intensification of persecution.
Indicative content (answers may include):
The breakdown of central authority during the Civil War, which allowed local figures like Matthew Hopkins to take the lead in prosecutions.
The influence of religious and Puritan anxieties, particularly fears of the Devil’s presence and the association of witchcraft with ungodly behaviour.
Economic and social strains caused by war, poor harvests, and plague, which increased the search for scapegoats.
The methods employed by Hopkins and Stearne, such as sleep deprivation and searching for Devil’s marks, which produced confessions and encouraged further accusations.
