Pendle Flashcards
When was the Pendle Witch Hunt?
1604-1613
How many people were found guilty at the trial?
11- Old Chattox died before
What were the names of the families involved?
The Device Family
The Referne Family
Who succeeded Elizabeth I in 1603?
King James VI of Scotland
He became King James I of England
How would the Gunpowder Plot have impacted religious tension in England?
The gunpowder plot was Catholic attempt to kill the King
It would have heightened animosity between Protestants and Catholics
How did religion vary across England?
Protestantism was the main religion of England but there remained strong Catholic support in the North
Being further from London it was difficult to manage
What did courts need in a trial as evidence?
Tangible proof of Maleficium such as death or injury
What did the 1604 Witchcraft Act declare?
Conjuring of spirits was now a capital offence, the most damaging aspect of witchcraft was the pact with the Devil
The trial of of witches was transferred to ordinary courts from the Church courts
What impact did the 1604 Witchcraft Act have on trials?
Now that tangible evidence is no longer needed, more people could be accused and executed
How would the economy of Pendle be described?
It was mainly a pastoral economy (sheep and cattle) with limited arable farming.
There was also a strong cloth industry (70% owned tools for this)
Why were residents at constant risk of eviction in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
Rent increased by 39% and inflation grew.
Enclosure took land away from tenants and sold/ rented it out to other people
How did the population of Pendle change?
It increased all over the country, by the 1500s the population had grown to half of pre-Black Death levels
In Pendle, there were 96 people in 1443 by 1650 it had increased to around 1620
How did the relationship between the Duchy of Lancaster and the copyholders change?
In 1609, they were expected to pay a lump sum of 12 years rent to confirm their rights.
Many couldn’t afford this and either evicted or increased rent prices for their tenants. In this context it is easy to understand why residents of Pendle would be less inclined to offer charity to vulnerable women who would be accused of witchcraft
How did London view Lancashire in terms of religion?
An ‘ignorant corner’ where Catholicism was still active, Lancashire historically had looked after Recusant Catholics
Why had Whalley Abbey been a valuable resource for Pendle?
It provided cloth, grain and money for the local residents
What impact did the dissolution of Whalley Abbey have on Pendle and the surrounding area?
It took away a valuable source of income and support
Without Catholic abbey, a group of Puritan clergy had more and more influence - the abbey and its land became the property of the crown which meant the estate became managed by many anti-catholic protestants
What happened on 18th March 1612?
John Law, a pedlar, was travelling with his wares when Alison asked him for some pins- John Law refused.
Alison muttered a curse and he presumably suffered a stroke and encountered her familiar (a black dog)
How did Alison Device respond to her beleved attack on John Law?
She believed she was a witch and confessed to using a curse and familiar
What was the family rivalry between Alison Device’s and Anne Redferne’s family?
Old Demdike - Alison’s grandmother
Old Chattox- Anne’s grandmother
Accused each other of stealing and theft, particularly grain and a cap
Alison’s father had promised to pay some grain yearly but this ended when he died - the accusations returned
Who was Roger Nowell?
An experienced JP and local landowner, he had been High Sheriff of Lancashire and had strong connections with high profile Protestants
What was Nowell’s involvement?
He led the investigation into Alison Device, it is unclear whether he went in knowing he was going to convict
He was familiar with the Pact with the Devil from the work of William Perkins
What did Alison Device confess after an interrogation with Nowell?
She accused Old Chattox of murder through witchcraft along with other examples of magic
Accused Old Demdike of being a witch
Old Chattox, Old Demdike and Anne Redferne are taken in for questioning
What did Old Demdike confess to?
Inability to evoke the name of Jesus
Having a familiar named Tibb, and suckling him
Making an effigy of a person to bewitch them
She was potentially tortured by Nowell
What were Old Demdike’s accusations?
Old Chattox and Anne made figures out of clay- Tibb told her these were effigies of Christopher Nutter, Robert Nutter and Marie Nutter
Christopher Nutter hd accused Old Chattox on his deathbed in 1595
Alison was searched by Nowell for something- what was it?
The Devil’s mark
Her mother Elizabeth was also searched, she admitted to having one for 40 years but was released
Why was Pendle widespread?
- Roger Nowell
- The Judges
- Events at Malkin Tower
- Jeanett Device
Why did the Duchy of Lancaster come into conflict with the copyholders?
In 1607, lawyers for the duchy questioned the validity of the copyholders’ estates. In reality the duchy hoped to gain money for the crown from the copyholders.
The copyholders petitioned the duchy of Lancaster in 1608, explaining that they had limited resources with which to pay fees. All of this added further to economic tensions
How much more was rent for subtenants of copyholders than the start of the 17th century?
25 times higher
What evidence of economic conflict can be seen in the Pendle trial?
Evidence from the trial shows a number of the suspected witches were subtenants: Anne Redferne was a tenant of Robert Nutter, who old chattox was accused of murdering
What evidence in witchcraft trials showed that the reformation had had little impact on people in Pendle?
Older witches were charged with using spells based on corrupted versions of old Catholic prayers indicates that the Protestant Reformation may have only had a limited impact on many people
Why was the parish of Whalley unable to manage the population?
In total, the parish of Whalley covered 180 square miles and comprised a population of 10,000 people
What do historians believe the greatest catalyst for reforming witchcraft legislation was?
The accession of James VI/I to the throne in England in 1603 as an important catalyst in reforming witchcraft legislation
Why was the inclusion of conjuring of spirits as a capital offence the most significant aspect of the 1604 act?
James was promoting the continental view that the most damaging aspect of witchcraft was that it originated from a pact with the devil. The pact was a threat to the social order. Historian Pumfrey has argued that the Lancashire trials represent a fusion of the continental focus on the diabolical pact and more traditional popular beliefs
What was the role of Abraham Lawe?
Immediately Abraham Lawe came to visit his father. He went in search of Alizon and her to his father on 29th March. Alizon begged for his forgiveness, which he gave her, but Abraham was incensed and reported the matter to a local magistrate, Nowell - from there the hunt accelerated
Why did historian John Swain believe that the families conflict was deeper than theft?
‘They were competing against each other for a limited market, making a living by healing, begging and extortion’
Why were the families already at risk before their rivalry and the following witchcraft accusations?
In about 1595, Christopher Nutter and Robert (his son) became unwell whilst Old Chattox was living on their land as a tenant. They both died and on their deathbeds they insisted they had been bewitched but did not name anyone. John, surviving son, would later give evidence against Old Chattox
How did Alizon device’s confession allow the hunt to be more widespread
Alizon confessed that she had lamed Law which meant Nowell was in a position to charge Alizon, but she did not stop in her confession. She elaborated on her story and Nowell’s investigation became more widespread: She explained her initiation into witchcraft by her grandmother and went on to explain the family rivalry
How did Malkin Tower allow for the hunt to become more widespread?
When knowledge of the meeting reached Roger Nowell, he resumed his investigations immediately
Another JP and with the help of James Device discovered a clay image and some teeth from the graveyard at Newchruch
Nowell then sought the help of the another magistrate and together they examined elizabeth, James and Jennet Device in order to ascertain ehat happened at the Malkin Tower meetin
As a result Jennet, 9 years old, would become Nowell’s star witness
How did the death of Old Demdike affect the trial?
Old Demdike died before the 19th May whn Old Chattox was examined. In this examination Old Chattox changed her story and laid much more blame on Demdike. She claimed she had heard Demdike confess to several muders in an attempt to sercure preferential tratment
Who were the judges Altham and Bromley?
Altham - well respected and had a reputation as an orthodox Protestant, resulting in him rise quickly in the reign of James I. He probably held similar views on witch-hunting to the King, and may well have carried with him and consulted a copy of Daemonologie during the trial
Bromley - Educated in the Calvinist tradition, trusted by King James
Both Judges were concerrned with gaining the King’s favour and positive convictions for witchcraft may have been a way of achieving this
What does Pavlac argue about the 1604 Witchcraft Act?
- Judges were allowed a broad leeway to interpret the law
- The law did not connect every act of witchcraft to the diabolical pact, however
- This rationality kept the English trials from going as far as those elsewhere
