Fraudulent Cases: Pendle Swindle 1634 Flashcards
Who took a keen personal interest?
King Charles 1 (son of James).
Who was the case triggered by?
Edmund Robinson (10): He brought up the subject of witchcraft to avoid punishment for not looking after his dad’s cattle.
Describe Edmund Robinson’s story:
- As a diversion, he claimed to have been approached by two greyhounds in Nov 1633 when picking plums.
- He took hold of them via the string around their necks and became suspicious of them.
- One turned into Frances Dickinson (local wife) and the other, an unknown boy.
- Frances offered a shilling to keep quiet; he refused and intended to report her.
- The boy became a horse and Frances took Ed to a house (Hoarstones) where witches gathered.
- As the witches feasted, he escaped.
Ed and his dad informed the local magistrates, who were they?
Richard Shuttleworth and John Starkie.
What was unusual about the way they informed the magistrates?
Dad had found Edmund in a distressed state and was told the story but they waited 3 months before reporting it - it was an unusually long break.
What did Edmund do at churches?
He was taken to different churches and identified 25 witches.
Of the 25 witches identified by Edmund, how many were found guilty?
17
What shows that the presiding magistrates were sceptical of the case?
They immediately sent a report to the Privy Council in London.
What did their report state?
Despite following the law and finding 17 guilty, they were sceptical over the evidence: both written evidence and spoken testimony.
What did the magistrates instruct the Bishop of Chester to do?
He was instructed to investigate some of the women.
What did the Bishop (Henry Bridgeman) conclude?
That Edmund’s motive was not founded in magic.
What happened because of Bridgeman’s conclusion?
Edmund and his father were sent to London for interrogation, along with 4 of the women.
What happened to the women in London?
They were examined by surgeons and midwives for the devil’s mark, and were also questioned by the King.
What did the medical professionals conclude?
They stated that there was nothing unnatural on the bodies of the women.
Despite lack of evidence, what did Margaret Johnson do?
She confessed to selling her soul to the devil as he promised her everything she desired.
She also stated that she had met with other witches, but it did not fit Edmund’s account.
What bizarre job did Edmund land after the trial?
He was seen as a witchfinder and was taken around churches to identify them.
He was encouraged by his father and uncle.
What evidence shows that this was profitable for the Robinson’s?
The dad gained enough money to purchase two cows.
What happened when Edmund was summoned to London and separated from his father?
He confessed that his story was fiction: he was forced to tell the story by his father as a way to get revenge on Frances for cow payment.
Why is Edmund’s confession important?
It demonstrates that an accusation was, once again, motivated by something other than the supernatural.
What impact did it have?
- It influenced the scepticism of King Charles 1.
- Inspired Webster’s sceptical publication (1677) that got published by the Royal Society.
- Witch trials actually remained relatively low until the Civil War inflamed social tensions and superstitions.
What shows a lack of impact?
- Robinson became a witch hunter.
2. It preceded the East Anglia hunt.
What was used at Pendle that shows a change in how the elite approached witch cases?
A more evidence-based approach was taken - potentially influenced by Bacon.
