“Contra negantem principia non est disputandum.”
“There is no need to argue against someone who denies principles.” (King James VI/I, Daemonologie)
SOME REAL HISTORY
What were The Bamberg Trials?
We reference “The Bamberg Trials” in the show. (Peter: “How do we know the Bamberg trials really happened? Does ‘Bamberg’ even exist? I’ve never been there, have you? How do we know it’s not a conspiracy to elicit sympathy–”)
The Bamberg witch trials of 1627–1632 took place in present-day Germany. It was one of the biggest mass trials and mass executions ever seen in Europe, and one of the biggest witch trials in history. (Wikipedia)
What’s the real Ghost Janet story?
The playwright discovered a family link to a Scottish noblewoman who was tried and burned at the stake for witchcraft.
Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis, was executed by King James V in 1537. She is said to be “The Grey Lady” ghost of Glamis Castle in Scotland.
Our playwright wanted to remember her ancestor’s story in a different way and give her memory a different energy. In “Witches,” Ghost Janet is given the power to rescue her descendent from sharing her horrible fate– “which was most foul and unjust.” She gets to witness the satisfying resolve in which good triumphs over evil. (OddScotland.com)
Witch Pricking
Yep. It was a real thing.
“During the height of the witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries, common belief held that a witch could be discovered through the process of pricking their skin with needles, pins and bodkins – daggerlike instruments for drawing ribbons through hems or punching holes in cloth.
This practice derived from the belief that all witches and sorcerers bore a witch’s mark that would not feel pain or bleed when pricked. The mark alone was not enough to convict a person, but did add to the evidence. Pricking was common practice throughout Europe. Professional witch finders earned a good living from unmasking witches, traveling from town to town to perform their services. Hollow wooden handles and retractable points have been saved from these finders, which would give the appearance of an accused witch’s flesh being penetrated to the hilt without mark, blood, or pain. Other specially designed needles have been found with a sharp end and a blunt end. Through sleight of hand, the sharp end could be used on “normal” flesh, drawing blood and causing pain, while the unseen dull end would be used on a supposed witch’s mark.” (Wikipedia.)
When did the witch hunts begin?
“One of the earliest records of a witch is in the Bible in the book of 1 Samuel, thought to be written between 931 B.C. and 721 B.C. It tells the story of when King Saul sought the Witch of Endor to summon the dead prophet Samuel’s spirit to help him defeat the Philistine army.” (history.com)
European witch hunts lasted for a span of 200 years, from 1450 to 1750. These included:
The Würzburg witch trials of 1625–1631, which took place in present day Germany, was one of the biggest mass trials and mass executions ever seen in Europe, and one of the other largest witch trials in history.
The Great Scottish Witch Hunt in 1597, 400 people were put on trial, and it’s believed 200 of them were executed.
The mass trials of Northern Norway, including the Vardø witch trials (1621), Vardø witch trials (1651–1653),Vardø witch trials (1662-1663).
American witch hunts began in 1647 with Alice Young and lasted until 1693 with Lucretia Brown being the final accused.
Connecticut’s Own History:
Alse (Alice) Young, a 32 year old mother of Windsor, Connecticut, was the first person in the American colonies to be executed for witchcraft on May 26, 1647; 40 years before the Salem trials. Her daughter Alice would also be accused of witchcraft thirty years later in Springfield, Massachusetts. No one knows where she was buried.
Names of Connecticut Witch Hunt Victims:
- Alice Young of Windsor, the first person hanged for witchcraft in the American colonies, May 26, 1647.
- Mary Johnson of Wethersfield, hanged for alleged witchcraft, 1648
- Goodwife “Goody” Bassett of Stratford, hanged for alleged witchcraft, 1651
- Joan Carrington of Wethersfield, hanged for alleged witchcraft, 1651
- John Carrington of Wethersfield, hanged for alleged witchcraft, 1651
- Goodwife Knapp of Fairfield, hanged for alleged witchcraft, 1653
- Lydia Gilbert of Windsor, hanged for alleged witchcraft,1654
- Katherine Palmer of Wethersfield, accused of witchcraft, 1648, 1662, 1667, 1672
- Mary Sanford of Hartford, hanged for alleged witchcraft, 1662
- Rebecca Greensmith of Hartford, hanged for alleged witchcraft, 1663
- Nathaniel Greensmith of Hartford, hanged for alleged witchcraft, 1663
- Mary Barnes of Farmington, hanged for alleged witchcraft, January 25, 1663
More of the accused here: https://connecticutwitchtrials.org/victims/
Efforts have been made in Connecticut to exonerate the victims: https://connecticutwitchtrials.org/
Did you know: In America, the condemned were never burned at the stake? The convicted would be hanged.
Key Historical Texts:
Malleus Maleficarium, translated as “The Hammer of Witches,” by Heinrich Kramer– the unofficial “father of the witch hunts,” translated as “The Hammer of Witches,” published in Germany in 1497.
Daemonologie, by King James VI of Scotland/I of England, published in 1597. www.gutenberg.org
The Discovery of Witches, by Matthew Hopkins, published in 1647. www.gutenberg.org