A confirmation and discovery of witchcraft is a significant work by John Stearne, a close associate of Witch-Finder General Matthew Hopkins. The book, published between 1645 and 1647, provides valuable clues to the motives of witches and their connection to early modern science. It highlights Stearne’s ideas on salvation and eschatology, the link between witch-finding and early modern science, and the complicated history of witch-finding as a piece of material history.
The book is a reprint of the first edition published in London by William Wilson in 1648, which includes bibliographies. It is a valuable resource for researching Witchcraft Trails and is a good reference for those researching Witchcraft Trails.
As accusations of witchcraft spread across East Anglia, Stearne and Hopkins were enlisted by villagers to identify and eradicate witches. The book is an homage to witches and their wisdom, as well as their power to combine magic, mystery, and wisdom. The book contains confessions of many of those executed since May 1645, providing evidence that all witches are allied with Satan, but their pacts with the devil are also mentioned.
In conclusion, A confirmation and discovery of witchcraft offers valuable insights into the motives of witches and their connection to early modern science. It is a valuable resource for researchers interested in Witchcraft Trails and the power of witches to combine magic, mystery, and wisdom.
📹 The SHOCKING True Story of the Witchfinder General
… Moon by Ronald Hutton: https://amzn.to/3RdrlhT The Discovery of Witches by Matthew Hopkins A Confirmation and Discovery of …
📹 #endtimes #witchcraft IS REAL‼️‼️ CONFIRMATION FROM GOD I WAS UNDER WITCHCRAFT SORE BACK 🤯
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The boy who gave himself up might have actually believed he was a witch. A young lady at a different time believed she had, just by speaking, cursed a man, and was therefore a witch. That was why a man who observed the witch hunts in Europe advised that confessed “witches” be treated gently and given good food and a soft bed. He thought that such people were just sad and a little mad.
Excellent article about a horrible individual. It’s interesting to note that Hopkins is the only person in history to hold the title ‘Witchfinder General’ as when I was younger I thought it was a generalised title given to witch hunters. I read Ronald Hutton’s ‘The Witch’ from a library earlier this year and found it to be a fascinating and eye-opening global history of Witches and Witchcraft. I will try to check out the other books mentioned at the end of the article.
Thanks for the article. It was a fascinating watch. Thanks also in particular for pointing out details like the high standard of evidence at the time in courts and how legally difficult it was to prove cases of witchcraft. People today are apt to think that there was little due process or extremely biased courts back then, when in fact it was the determined legal shenanigans of the accusers that caused much injustice. A skilled and heartless lawyer today can oppress the poor and marginalized on whatever flimsy pretext. I’m sure many modern prosecutors make a decent income that way.
6:41 A widow… what seems common in a lot of these stories is that the widow admits to being a witch and names others right away. It would seem she was unaware of there being a threat against her or the others initially. Like they were SET UP by entrapment. I know the women (as well husbands & sons, daughters) usually were chosen because the accuser had an eye for their property. After husband & son were killed, they went after the widow because, for the most part, women could not own property. Absolutely exploited in the worst way. This story sounds a lot like one in Iceland. And most others. Crooked! 🔥
2:44 “It was a time of rapid and drastic social change, driven by a certainty that the old ways were not only wrong but dangerous — even evil. And in that way common to revolutionaries and fanatics, the sweeping changes enacted by one generation were soon condemned by those that came after them.” The more things change, ay?
You have to really appreciate those Scottish Kings of England James 6th of Scotland went to Denmark for his wife the King of Denmark and witnessed the witch hunts then brought ut to Scotland then when he took over England in 1603 ge brought the witch hunting to England thats we in England really distrust these Scottish Kings taken over England😂😂😂😂😂
Interestingly before he visited a town he used to send a messenger ahead to pin up a notice of his coming, urging villagers who wanted to accuse witches to be there on a certain day and time. When he arrived there was always a large group of people waiting to accuse others of witchcraft. And nearly all of the accusers were women. Think about that.
Witchcraft…..by Sinatra Those fingers in my hair That sly come-hither stare That strips my conscience bare It’s witchcraft And I’ve got no defense for it The heat is too intense for it What good would common sense for it do? ‘Cause it’s witchcraft, wicked witchcraft And although I know it’s strictly taboo When you arouse the need in me My heart says “Yes, indeed” in me “Proceed with what you’re leadin’ me to” It’s such an ancient pitch But one I wouldn’t switch ‘Cause there’s no nicer witch than you
Dan I have the utmost respect for you, my brother. I bet Tolkien (may he rest in peace) would be proud of men like this and us who actively debunk all the lies the world has spun about our existence and our glorious achievements. He would be grateful we preserve the Indo-European ( ARYAN ) culture that we share. Our interconnectedness is eternal and at this moment the world is doing all it can to suppress our cultures.
The triad of religion, con artists and politics, kind of reminds me of home in the USA. Con men scaring up the common folk with emotional arguments to fear and anger, its a tale as old as time. Every century we forget the lessons of the last and have to cull ourselves, be it religion, your funny looking neighbor or whatever. Theres always a clever con man at the pulpit or the podium. And it always starts by undermining trust in information sources so their alternative can be provided. He may have been just one of many opportunists on the wounded body of the political situation. We have no shortage of them now in the states. People say “first they came for the guns”. Truth is history shows that first they come for the trusted information sources so an alternative can be provided. It’s only then that they take away the guns from a few and arm “the right people” to the teeth. All the greatest hits, the people get worked up to a foaming fervor first. I’m an optomist though. The world has been ending since we first scratched symbols on cave walls and it hasn’t happened yet. We just destroy it ourselves a little bit every so many decades out of boredom, and for some for profit. But it only happens because many of us are easily led emotional creatures.
Nice vid. Please make a article on the Helmand Culture of Bronze Age southern Afghanistan and Eastern Iran. A article on the the Land of Punt and ones (videoes) on the Pre-indo-european Iberians*, Nok culture of Ancient Nigeria, the Garamantes, Kingdom of Chimor (Chimu empire), the Paracas Culture of the Andes, the (proto-mande) Tichitt culture and Sao civilization would be great and greatly appreciated 😊 too.
Im surprised you didn’t mention “running the witch”. I’d imagined running was the most popular not torture torture. Is running not so common as fiction and barely historical histories lead me to believe? I had assumed running was similar to a religious group of highwaymen and assassin who are prohibited from drawing blood so use a scarf to strangle anyone they want. I had figured pressing, running, even drowning and hanging were seen as less violent
There is a movie about this Witch Finder. It is one of the most terrifying films I’ve ever seen. Not because of visual violence, or special effects but because, if one places themselves in the accused’s position. It has no startling AI shenanigans. A horror movie starring the late Mr Price doesn’t need it. The title is The Conqueror Worm. Who plays the Witchfinder? None other than on Vincent Price.
One of my ancestors was executed in a witch trial in Sweden, along with three of her daughters, in October 1674. It was the largest witch trial ever in Sweden, resulting in the execution of 71 people. It took place in Torsåker – “Thor’s Field”. Many things can be said for the reason of the witch hunts, but one thing was that it was one of the final attempts to stamp out pagan knowledge and tradition. Old women who knew herbs and nature medicine, has even today been carried into the modern cartoonish idea of a witch, and this is the ancient European tradition of healers. To the establishment of this time, you can only get healing through the church, so they wanted this knowledge gone.
It would be very nice to think that modern British society is above this kind of thing today. However witch hunting has just taken different forms today. Only a few decades ago several women were imprisoned for killing their babies when these children likely died due to genetic factors. The professor responsible for these convictions used the mantra one cot death is a tragedy, two is suspicious and three is murder unless proved otherwise. Of course, the possibility of genetic issues wasn’t factored in. Many lives were ruined the effects are still being felt. Then we have the post office scandal. Things haven’t changed that much.
This was a time when it was a “fact” that Jews laid eggs, took Christian child (for reasons which varied greatly in the telling), and had secret hidden horns. The belief in witches was similarly a demonization of pre-Christian and folklore practices. The difference being that, since there is a direct and enduring lineage to living practicing people who can defend themselves, most of us know the truth about Jewish people. Whereas the word “witch” still bears all of its absurd and unfounded stigma and pejorative beliefs.
The great irony of the modern perception of witch hunts / witch burnings as a medieval practice was that in reality under medieval church doctrine witch craft was considered not real. As under current theology at that time any one claiming to have pre-natural powers would be impossible since that was only possible through God as the devil had now power on earth.. Anyone claiming witch craft was considered either delusional or a con artist trying to trick people. Witch hunts were a post renaissance / early modern era phenomenon.
I was in Boston Massachusetts not too long ago. I came across a plaque on an old church that paid homage to Goodwife Ann Glover. She was an Irish widow, who refused to announce her Catholic faith in Puritan, New England. And she was hanged as a witch in 1688. I also recall a lecture by a professor on Anabaptists in England. There was a case of one woman who was in AnaBaptist. The government wanted to execute her on being one, but being a protestant, it would not have looked good, so they changed the accusation from Anabaptist to witch. The English professor and author, Dr. Edward Dutton, Roto, book called witches, feminism, and the fall of the west. He goes into more detail about which trials in England during this period. He gives a breakdown of what a typical witch looked like, which matches are common perception of their appearance. In most cases of which is executed, it was for legitimate crimes, such as murder, theft, and accusations by their embittered neighbors. Puritans were obsessed with the devil as much as leftist are obsessed with race. That’s why in New England there are more place names in reference to the devil than God.
Interesting and there is more to it than simply “church showed up and burned witches and will do so again if given the chance the end” which is the typical British Atheist line. Oh and the Spanish Inquisition, which was based on the careful weighing of evidence by some of the more educated and intelligent people in Spain–Dominicans–meant they zero witches were executed during its entire history.
Coincidentally, the very week this article was uploaded I took out a library book about a fictionalized version of this man, told through the perspective of his possibly-fictional sibling Alice. “The Witchfinder’s Sister” by Beth Underdown. On another note, being examined over every centimeter of your body for a single mole or mark is so unfair – like who has NO moles if you check EVERYWHERE ?
Just looked this up for confirmation, its nice to be correct. 😬 Re:’Wednesday’ the series The inspiration for Crackstone seemingly appears to be the combination of the lives of real life Colonist Roger Conant (who founded Salem, similarly to Crackstone with Jericho) and Witch Finder General Matthew Hopkins.
Every witchfinder has a different set of values. One might believe that laziness and sloth is the biggest sign that someone is a witch. Others might believe that not obeying their all ‘thumbs’ poor husband was a sign that someone was a witch. Others might believe that being barren with no explanation enough to satisfy any witchfinder’s curiosity concerning why was a sign that one or two people were practicing witchcrafts. When crooks only pretended to be witches back then to look scary enough during a break in unless they were good enough at quick changes during their getaway while navigating around the security forces of that night then it could have often been distracting to some detectives and witchfinders back then. In far north nations only a festival could lead to an ill-report later being brought back to a topmost respected at the time witchfinder while no DNA tests were available back then. Good thing DNA tests are available to catch crooks. A crook couple for example. No not Harry and Meagan for example. I could go on and on about the kind of imagination which might believe that JEzebel has become reincarnated in a female human being.
This was pretty awful. But I just gotta say that “witches” are an actual problem in some parts of the world. Say a witch requires the knuckle bones of a widow. Over night poor women who have lost their husbands will have their hands chopped off by thugs who will sell them to said witch. Stuff like that actually happens and I have family that has been directly effected by it.
Know of any cases where the accused, when asked to identify fellow witches, publicly announced that their accusers were evil or did such counter-accusations only occur in private without witnesses. Could’ve been interesting to see a witchfinder or judge in a witchcraft case suddenly under suspicion for the very thing he’s trying to stamp out.
“Witches” were actually healers with vast knowledge of herbs and other valuable information. The new medical establishment was just starting up at that time (the one still in operation today.) Competition needed to be eliminated, whereby everyone was forced into the new system, like sheep. So much, along with the healers, was stolen from us and destroyed.
Hopkins was an opportunist con man, taking advantage of the turmoil caused by the civil war and he got away with his work due to the trauma of the time. A man who deserved to be brought to justice at a time when there was little of it, picking on simple folk and killing so many women on his twisted campaign. Pure evil.
I truly wonder how many who have taken the Sacred Name of Yeshua, Jesus upon their lips and in wickedness used it to torture and butcher and murder helpless souls and lives. The same souls who will stand before The Throne Of Yahweh, Yeshua and be cast into outer darkness and Eternal suffering and separation from The Lord Jesus and Our Father in Heaven. Remember the Words that last and echoe through all Eternity of the Lord Jesus The King of Glory. “Whatever you have done to the least of these My brethren, you have done unto Me. I do not know you, depart from Me into everlasting torment, prepared for the devil and his angels”
Sounds very familiar. Those who want to keep repeating history’s mistakes. “no one could be sure whether their friends and neighbors were secretly for the king or for Parliament. This was also a time of growing religious fundamentalism as Puritans tried to do away with ancient Traditions to impose a new and oppressive social order …”
I’ve been wondering where that association of Witchcraft and malformations might have came from. Our ancient pagan religion in Hungary Táltosism used to hold malformed people in high regard and they were considered magical so there might have been more to it than just horny priests confusing birthmarks for nipples and similar reasons. 😀
It seems to me that there could well have been some driver for the exultant religious experiences that were so common before the modern era. And it was at the beginning of the modern era that I believe something happened that was to lessen the frequency of times such religious visions happened. Put simply it was the modern recognition of the fungus ergot, which is found on wheat and is known to cause religious hallucination in small doses, (that are similar to the effects of LSD), It caused so many problems in earlier centuries, that it caused an hysterical reaction by the Authorities of the time. Once the dangers of Ergot was recognised, in the modern era, and it was discovered that contaminated bread was the main culprit, steps were taken to ensure that the contamination was dealt with and religious hallucinations are almost non existent today.
Puritans are with us still, and can be found clustered in the extreme end of progressivism mostly, which developed out of the Non-Conformist Christian groups who had carried the radical Christian torch after the end of the “official” Puritans. They march in the road to save the planet, and try to prohibit meat eating, and tobacco use, and other such causes.
Also sorcery is very real, so are demons and possession, “the biggest trick the devil pulled is fooling the world to think he dosent exist”, Renowed Late Eastern Roman historian Procopius speaks of the evil of the demon possessed Justinian and his satanic whore of a wife Theodora and her coven of witches, in his “Secret History”. Personal chronicler of Justinian. His works are the Polemon (De bellis; Wars); Peri Ktismaton (De aedificiis; Buildings) Anecdota (Historia arcana; Secret History)
I watched the first two minutes. Every noun is preceded by a dramatic, cheap adjective. And I have already been told what to think about all of this from an enlightened, modern perspective that can so aptly spot the “evil” of the past and relish on that oh-so attractive evilness — like a Victorian maid’s uplifted skirt: It is a wicked but titillating view, and a gentleman cannot be expected to resist stealing an educational glimpse. Oh well. This is one of those stories.
Well, thank god this doesnt happen anymore!…oh wait, apparently its highly detestable to be jewish these days not to mention tell certain people that you voted for a certain candidate…”doomed to repeat” rings a loud bell right now…gladly we have a particular rule of law, cultural and social constraints now that would never see six unpopular women standing on gallows with cheering spectators.
2:30 The English church wanted to do away with sinful Popish activities such as Plays, gambling and dancing and even celebrations such as Christmas. One moment? When had Plays, gambling and dancing been Popish activities? Not anything I have ever heard of before. But understandable if that is supposed to mean they wanted to prevent the preformance of plays, gambling and dancing with in the Church keeping it as a house for worship. Then that does not seem a bad thing as people could preform plays, gambling and dancing in proper venues or in the Market Places where they had been the practice for centuries. The Church did not rule Parliment or the King. So their restritions would surely have been with in their durisdition which would also be acceptable today in my opinion. I think you are referring to the dispute which was collectivly known as The Church of England which arose due to the publication of George Abbot’s chaplain’s licensing Histriomastix for publication in 1630; the book which attacked English theatre and Christmas celebrations, among others, which caused scandal when it appeared in late 1632. George Abbot’s chaplain’s were a fraction of wht was collectivly known as The Church of England and were not by a long shot The Church of England. So to state The Church of England wanted to ‘to do away with sinful Popish activities such as plays, gambling and dancing and even celebrations such as Christmas is a gross abberation of historical fact. You may as well have stated Bart Simpson was heard to whisper to his sister Lisa ‘Eat My Shorts’ in church and that became known as what both The Pope and Arch Bishop said and became collectivly known as the will of the USA congress.