East Anglia - The responsibility of Hopkins and Stearne

Question 1

How many Witches were accused during the craze?

Answer 1

Around 700 people were accused or faced trial in the region and period of Hopkins and Stearne.

Question 2

How many were executed?

Answer 2

Historians have estimated around 300-400 were ultimately executed

Question 3

Why did Hopkins apparently become interested in witchcraft?

Answer 3

He became concerned about witches in 1644 when he claimed he was being kept up at night by meetings of witches

Question 4

What political affiliation did Grimston have?

Answer 4

He was a parliamentarian - resisting many of Charles policies while he was an MP

Question 5

What were his (Grimston’s) religious sympathies?

Answer 5

Grimston was a Puritan

Question 6

Analysis: How might this have affected his desire to hunt witches?

Question 6

What was found on Elizabeth Clark?

Answer 6

Three teats were found Elizabeth Clark by four search-women

Question 7

What appeared to visit her?

Answer 7

Three familiars

Question 8

Who did she name as a witch?

Answer 8

Rebecca West who also admitted to suckling imps

Question 9

What did West do to gain immunity?

Answer 9

She turned witness for the Crown

Question 10

Analysis: How might this increase the extent of witch hunts?

Answer 10

Now that they had found a number of witches in the area, it raises suspicion that there are others that need to be found

Question 11

Why might people have disliked John Lowes politically?

Question 12

What did Hopkins use to extract a confession?

Answer 12

The swimming test

Question 13

Analysis: Why would Lowes have been viewed as presenting an economic threat with his largest crime?

Question 14

What did Hopkins get from each local council?

Answer 14

A fee for his service

Question 15

What seemed to cause a lot of accusations of witchcraft?

Answer 15

Many accusations were

Question 16

What action had been taken prior to Hopkins arrival?

Question 17

Who objected to Hopkins in their community?

Answer 17

A local clergyman, John Gaule, objected to Hopkins.

Question 18

What surprised Hopkins in the Norfolk assizes?

Answer 18

He was subjected to hostile questioning about his activities by officials who had become suspicious.

Question 19

How did he respond?

Answer 19

He responded with his book ‘The Discovery of Witches’

Question 20

How does Louise Jackson interpret the driving force behind the witch trials?

Answer 20

Jackson interprets this as organised and deliberate violence, exclusively carried out against women.

Question 21

How does she account for the fact that 20% of the accused were men?

Answer 21

She argues that men were only ever accused if they associated with an already accused witch

Question 22

What area did Hopkins seem especially keen to find evidence of?

Answer 22

In female spaces and tasks; The home, kitchen, the nursery, feeding and the many poor women that were involved in dairy farming

Question 23

What were about 20% of witches accused of?

Answer 23

Killing or harming children

Question 24

What evidence is used to assess the literacy and thus class of victims?

Answer 24

How many could sign their names

Question 25

How does the class of the victims compare to those of the hunters?

Answer 25

Those who accused, witnessed or hunted witches were much more likely to be literate, showing that many accusations came from wealthier people, possibly thinking the poor were seeking revenge

Question 26

What title did Hopkins give himself?

Answer 26

The Witchfinder General

Question 27

How closely involved were Hopkins and Stearne in trials?

Answer 27

It seems the men occasionally testified in court, although there is no evidence that they were present for all cases

Question 28

What four signs of witchcraft did Hopkins and Stearne focus on?

Answer 28

1. The relationship between the suspected witches and the Devil
2. Any marks that could be associated with witchcraft
3. Any imps or familiars given to the witch by the Devil or other witches
4. Other witches known to the accused or members of their supposed covens

Question 29

What four techniques did they use to extract confessions?

Answer 29

1. Isolate the suspect as much as possible to make them disorientated and more likely to confess
2. Some evidence suggests intimidation and physical violence was used against some suspects.
3. ‘Watching’ - the suspect would be watched over to keep from sleeping (most successful but controversial) and the sleep deprivation was supposedly discontinued (Hopkins claimed in his defense)
4. ‘Walking’ was also used (with watching) where the suspect is forced to walk around the room constantly

Question 30

What test did they frequently use?

Answer 30

The swimming test (if they float they were guilty)

Question 31

Where had it been justified previously?

Answer 31

Daemonologie by James I had approved the test

Question 32

How reliable was the test considered to be by magistrates?

Answer 32

Magistrates were often sceptical of the swimming test

Question 33

Why would Hopkins background have lead to him being trusted?

Answer 33

He was the son of a Puritan clergyman, James Hopkins

Question 34

Why would Hopkins need a career that provide an income?

Answer 34

He was the youngest of two brothers so knew he would never inherit the family estate

Question 35

What did many believe about the formal roles of Hopkins and Stearne?

Answer 35

Many believed they had been officially appointed by parliament to find witches when they were actually self-appointed

Question 36

Whose journey did Hopkins and Stearne shadow?

Answer 36

William Dowsing

Question 37

What was William Dowsing’s position?

Answer 37

A parliamentarian soldier who was appointed ‘Iconoclast General’. His task was to seek out statues and idols associated with Catholicism.

Question 38

Analysis: How could this contribute to their positive reception?

Answer 38

If it was believed that they were endorsed by parliament, they may have believed there was reason and accepted it

Question 39

What in Stearne’s background may have contributed to his desire to hunt witches?