Belief in witches and their ability to cause harm to others was prevalent throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. One popular way to counter the bewitchment and to break the hold of the witch over an individual or his family and livestock was to remove the heart of a dead and bewitched animal. This would …
The Heart of the Matter: Two Cases of Devonshire Witchcraft Read More »
With a glass of wine and the sound of bird song on a glorious summer evening, the world of 16th Century Essex could not feel further away. Turning to the dusty tome before me however, the story of Agnes Waterhouse beckons; the sixty-four year old witch from Hatfield Peverel, the first woman to be executed …
Interesting Individuals: Agnes Waterhouse – The First Witch Hanged in England Read More »
A delve into the library today turned up this fascinating object – the toadstone. These much-sought after “jewels” were actually the fossilized teeth of a of ray-finned fish called lepidotes. Possibly so called because they resembled the dull colouring of toads, they were credited with magical properties as early as the first century, where they …
Neither Toad Nor Stone – The Mystery of the Toadstone. Read More »
