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17th century witch chronicles put online (UK)
Reuters ^ | March 4, 2011 | Michelle Martin

Posted on 03/05/2011 7:12:18 PM PST by decimon

LONDON (Reuters) – A 350-year-old notebook which documents the trials of women convicted of witchcraft in England during the 17th century has been published online.

The notebook written by Nehemiah Wallington, an English Puritan, recounts the fate of women accused of having relationships with the devil at a time when England was embroiled in a bitter civil war.

The document reveals the details of a witchcraft trial held in Chelmsford in July 1645, when more than a hundred suspected witches were serving time in Essex and Suffolk according to his account.

"Divers (many) of them voluntarily and without any forcing or compulsion freely declare that they have made a covenant with the Devill," he wrote.

"Som Christians have been killed by their meanes," he added.

Of the 30 women on trial in Chelmsford, 14 were hanged.

Wallington also recounts the experiences of Rebecca West, a suspected witch who confessed to sleeping with the devil when she was tortured because "she found her selfe in such extremity of torture and amazement that she would not enure (endure) it againe for the world." Her confession spared her.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: ergot; godsgravesglyphs; turnedmeintoanewt
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1 posted on 03/05/2011 7:12:20 PM PST by decimon
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To: SunkenCiv

Familiar women ping.


2 posted on 03/05/2011 7:13:04 PM PST by decimon
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To: decimon
See the Vincent Price swan song, the horror move The Conqueror Worm for a cinematic take on the era.
3 posted on 03/05/2011 7:16:54 PM PST by RJR_fan ("Be kind to every person you meet. For every person is fighting a great battle." St. Ephraim)
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To: decimon


They got all my friends, but they didn't get me!
4 posted on 03/05/2011 7:18:43 PM PST by LostInBayport (When there are more people riding in the cart than there are pulling it, the cart stops moving...)
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To: decimon
they should have asked her, she was the head witch..
5 posted on 03/05/2011 7:19:54 PM PST by max americana
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To: decimon

Well, we did do the nose...


6 posted on 03/05/2011 7:32:17 PM PST by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: LostInBayport
They got all my friends, but they didn't get me!

Thank you NOT!!! I will be having nightmares tonight because of this. (Although it is funny)

7 posted on 03/05/2011 7:49:48 PM PST by ProudFossil
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To: decimon

There was one tied to a pole in a bay in Scotland and the people watched as the tide came in and drowned her.


8 posted on 03/05/2011 7:51:26 PM PST by crz
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To: crz
There was one tied to a pole in a bay in Scotland and the people watched as the tide came in and drowned her.

I've read of a little test that was done. Tie her up and dunk her in a river. If she didn't drown then she was a witch. Don't know if that was actually done but I have read that.

9 posted on 03/05/2011 8:00:05 PM PST by decimon
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To: decimon

There is an area near where I live called Witchduck, because someone suspected of being a witch was dunked near there...


10 posted on 03/05/2011 8:11:30 PM PST by DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis (Want to make $$$? It's easy! Use FR to pimp your blog!!!)
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To: ProudFossil
I don't want you to have nightmares, so I'll make up a happy ending! Here's what happened to the old witch after she made some anti-semitic comments to a reporter:


11 posted on 03/05/2011 8:22:03 PM PST by LostInBayport (When there are more people riding in the cart than there are pulling it, the cart stops moving...)
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To: decimon

That’s how witchduck rd in VaBch got named.


12 posted on 03/05/2011 9:05:55 PM PST by stuartcr (Everything happens as God wants it to...otherwise, things would be different)
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To: decimon

That was the Dunking chair.

They also used to tie something to them and chuck them in and if they floated they were considered a witch and if they drowned they werent.

What a bunch. I read that most of the cases might have been caused by ergot poisoning. ergot is a mold that was in the barley and it is not unlike LSD. So they went around in a state of drug induced paranoia and thought they saw witches and accused anyone that didnt look just right.


13 posted on 03/05/2011 9:48:34 PM PST by crz
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To: decimon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g

That one’s too easy.


14 posted on 03/05/2011 10:05:46 PM PST by I still care (I miss my friends, bagels, and the NYC skyline - but not the taxes. I love the South.)
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To: decimon

List of witch trials in North America and names of accused, 1600s-1700s:

http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/witchtrial/na.html


15 posted on 03/05/2011 10:16:13 PM PST by LibFreeOrDie (Obama promised a gold mine, but will give us the shaft.)
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To: LibFreeOrDie

I see a William Ayers as both an accuser and the accused. Some things never change.


16 posted on 03/06/2011 4:14:49 AM PST by decimon
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To: decimon; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1010RD; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; ...

· GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach ·
· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·

 
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Thanks decimon.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
 

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· Science topic · science keyword · Books/Literature topic · pages keyword ·


17 posted on 03/06/2011 5:21:33 PM PST by SunkenCiv (The 2nd Amendment follows right behind the 1st because some people are hard of hearing.)
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To: LostInBayport

That’s just insulting to witches. Don’t blame anyone but yourself when you get turned into a newt.


18 posted on 03/06/2011 5:28:13 PM PST by SunkenCiv (The 2nd Amendment follows right behind the 1st because some people are hard of hearing.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.


19 posted on 03/06/2011 7:29:15 PM PST by Pelham (Islam, mortal enemy of the free world)
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To: Pelham

He really had it goin’ on.


20 posted on 03/06/2011 8:14:14 PM PST by SunkenCiv (The 2nd Amendment follows right behind the 1st because some people are hard of hearing.)
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