The incredulous Witchfinder General

One might think this post about what entails to be elements of a belief system is naff, but its certainly factual even if the very tangibility that is presented can be easily challenged. There are elements which can be paralleled in terms of how the hearing construct certain scenarios. This was also a time when certain groups of people were too being vilified and jailed, even executed, for associations with the wrong dominant paradigm. This was the tumultuous period known as the English Civil Wars.

It must be remembered most people in those days could not read. Few could write their names or addresses. Thus life was basically oral. There was a popular saying in those far off days: ‘Words are but wind,’ and further, ‘Malicious tongues caused dispute between neighbours. Seditious words endangered the state. Scandalous and impious language disturbed the community of believers.‘ (David Cressy, Dangerous Talk – Scandalous, seditious & treasonable speech in pre-modern England, Oxford University Press 2010).

The main stories that are divulged below are undoubtedly situated in what can only be a world where things were clearly not what they seemed. In a sense the origins of the present can be said to have arisen from this period – certainly when more and more people were able to write during the 18th Century – there is no doubt many harboured a subset which believed in a whole schema of fantasy and very little in the way of fact – its an ideology that’s largely footprinted the world of the 21st Century.

Given this period during the 17th Century when speech would have been at its most prominent and anyone that didn’t erm… confer properly… would have no doubt met a problem. The ideology of the time – Puritanism – was about people who wore black but also exhibited little bodily limb movement unless it was quite necessary. When they spoke they didn’t gesture much. Evidently less animalistic and more to do with being perfect in the eyes of any deity that might possibly be watching from above.

At one end of the spectrum was one man known as the Witchfinder General. His main role in life was that of securing a wholesale elimination of those who didn’t fit in society. Matthew Hopkins was noted for the deaths countless numbers of women who were believed to be witches. Hopkins would extract confessions from these women which would then justify his act of ensuring these women were rapidly removed from public life – often by burning them at the stake. Hopkins held a belief these condemned women had a pact with the devil. Much of this belief was derived from what can only be a sheer fantasy. Life was almost entirely based around speech thus rumours, facts, assertions, beliefs were derived from oral and aural assertions and reactions.

Its a system that has similarities to having outposts in other people’s head, except this format is the belief that an omnipotent being has outposts in the originator’s head, and these outposts must be spread throughout the heads of others. When we think about how the human world is actually built, a lot of it is based on stories, but not terribly accurate ones and the indisputably constructed gods are no doubt involved also. There’s all sorts of assumptions and given parameters – and that taking into consideration the very thin veneer of time in which humanity has existed since the beginning time. In short humans have had loads of ‘time’ to procure a proper form of society. All they have done is spaffed up the wall constantly. Even within the ultra-thin veneer slice of existence each and every one of us encounters in the modern world, it is quite impossible to understand just how much of what we do is essentially a hyper reality, and again its because humanity has not properly considered its existence but instead chose to opt for a certain level of fakery – that’s reification, make believe, fantasy, a construct or whatever term best fits.

The idea of conquering or assimilating others or the act of enforcing a certain system continues quite unabated and we see it even today in the fantasist rhetoric digressed among politicians with no less than a degenerate vision – and how it evolves into actuals such as the ‘war’ in Ukraine or the sheer horrific genocides being conducted in Gaza.

Speech certainly separated humans from all other animal species. It was quite unfortunate this huge step of having speech and verbal communication. Humanity sees itself as being ‘so clever’ because of speech and the means of developing knowledge and introspection. The claim Homo Sapiens is the most intelligent species ever – simply because of the onset of speech – certainly shows a species that looks up its own arses and very gravely fails to see the dangers. Its a problem that transcends on a gigantic scale and this very arrogance is expert at devolving the most insidious end games.

Humans have evolved differently to other animals. We have much bigger brains relative to body size and in absolute size than other mammals, and have a level of intelligence that other animals don’t. There are many advantages to intelligence, such as the ability to plan and cooperate, innovate new techniques and share information about what works. (Loughborough University).

The above is a quite common caveat. Its a simple explanation given for children – its not to say its crap or anything. It does have substance which is quite difficult to dispute. However such explanations often exclude the very pitfalls of having such intelligence. Not only that, those downsides can be used to highlight just how dangerous homo sapiens is. As is so often the case its simply best to look the other way. In short one could say ‘Crisis? What crisis?’

What follows is the story of a dangerous malefactor, a man already briefly alluded to. There’s so many others of course but in terms of this post this particular individual from the mid 17th Century is the main focus. Could one dare describe him as an excellent human being? I think not!

The Witchfinder General

The Witchfinder’s General ‘bible.’ Britannica.

One must certainly wonder why Matthew Hopkins aka the Witchfinder General had undertook such a quest? Did he hate women? Quite possibly. Women were meant to be an objective for men in order that certain needs could be fulfilled whatever these were – whether it was in terms of the home, the family, gratification in both food and/or sex, and even in terms of elevating the male’s status in terms of power and statehood. There were however many women who didn’t fit into this male concept of the world – and in the mind of Hopkins these had to removed in order to make society more purer. It was a doctrine that excelled for the best part of two centuries and removed countless numbers of women from existence – simply because they were ‘witches’.

This period, being around the time of the English civil war was very odd indeed. There was copious amounts of fake news because people hated Cromwell and his corrupt parliaments. Politics itself was seen as a sham and many Parliamentary MPs were seen as degenerates who regularly ventured into the realms of illicit sex. That got so bad a ‘Committee for Plundered Ministers’ had to be established to sort out the mess – yet even its chairman received vilification for having taken a prostitute (History of Parliament). Among all this chaos the King of England was declared as a treasonous villain and executed in Whitehall. The grand overseer of this new fangled world (or almighty mess as it can be better called) was Cromwell himself – a man with a similar frame of mind as Hopkins – this being the world had to be cleansed and much renewed in order to secure the superiority of Puritanism. Hence no more Christmas for a start! Cromwell designated himself Lord Protector and declared England ‘The Protectorate.‘

It was within this strange new world of civil war and parliaments that produced questionable politicians and legislation that Matthew Hopkins found himself. There was no doubt witches were a thing, they really did ‘exist’ – and Hopkins had to rid the world of these. The chaos of the time was likely advantageous to Hopkins and his quest. It was indeed beneficial – and it took a fair amount of time before people started to notice and question Hopkins’ motives.

Since Hopkins desired to discover whether any woman suspected of witchcraft had made a pact with the devil, I often wonder how people can make pacts (or conversations) with the devil or even gods. Maybe being hearing works wonders for all I know! I expect Hopkins had some sort of magical device which could detect whether these witches were in fact associating themselves with the devil. In fact the only magical device available would have been his very own ears!

Hopkins’ quest to murder countless numbers of women began upon the act of hearing some Manningtree women discussing an apparent pact with the devil. But speech being what it is, things of a certain ephemeral construct can be assumed anyway (the spoken word lasts barely more than a second), so perhaps its quite possible the women were using something what would now be seen as word association, or some of word-play that gave them a topical discussion – perhaps about how they were being treated by men. But Hopkins, being like what a lot of others are, wasn’t terribly clever and saw these convos as being of direct correlation with the devil. I mean if Hopkins had sat on a bus in the 21st Century and overheard every single conversation that abounded, he would want to ensure practically each and every single one of the bus occupants were executed!

John Stearne’s A Confirmation and Discovery of Witchcraft, published in 1648. Wikipedia.

Anyway, Hopkins desired these evil women ought to be found and removed from society. Along with his assistant, John Stearne, they sought to eliminate witches on a gigantic scale. Most of their work was undertaken in Eastern England, largely Essex, Huntingdonshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, but also parts of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

The ducking stool (or chair) – a means of drowning women to ascertain their witch status. From Shropshire and My Shins Are Sharp.

The methods Hopkins and Stearne employed bordered on the bizarre. The most well-known of all was perhaps the one of drowning. If a woman was suspected of having been a witch, they were tethered to a chair then dunked in a river or a pool. If they didn’t drown, it PROVED they were a witch – therefore they could be hung, or sometimes burnt at the stake. The method was known as ‘swimming a witch.’ In the latter days of Hopkins’ regime, the chair was dispensed with and the women simply tied to the end of a rope and ducked in the water. The reasoning behind the technique was if a woman didn’t drown it meant she had rejected the baptismal water therefore the only conclusion available is she was a witch.

Other means of ascertaining whether a woman was a witch was perhaps the presence of a mouse, a cat, a spider or other specific creature. When interrogating his victims, if any of these creatures entered the room, it would be seen as a ‘familiar’ – a sign that Hopkins took to determine that any woman being questioned was undoubtedly a witch.

Towns such as Ipswich and Stowmarket paid the men to undertake a comprehensive clear out of witches. The witch-finding men charged heavily for their services. Indeed a number of men who were the witches’ husbands, collaborators or even witches themselves were also executed. The craze spread to America, hence the Witches of Salem.

By the time Hopkin’s reign had neared its peak, people were beginning to realise it was what we would describe nowadays as paranoia or mass hysteria. Many wondered whether the methods used made the alleged victims witches – in other words they hadn’t even been witches to begin with. Hopkin’s methods began to be questioned and opposition against him grew. Hopkins’ methods of torture was quite illegal even in those days yet his endeavours largely went under the radar. Hopkins’ reign lasted from 1644 until 1647 – a fairly short period of under three years – but enough in which to do plenty of damage. Although the quest abated considerably witch hunts continued to be a thing until 1716 when the last ‘witch’ – Mary Hicks – was executed.

The deaf witch of Sible Hedingham

The headlines a hundred years after the Hedingham incident. Suffolk Free Press Thursday March 21st 1963.

As briefly mentioned earlier, men could too be victims of a witch hunt. Most reports describe them as witches, but a few described them as wizards. There’s a sort of difference between the two thus describing men as witches under the circumstances in consideration appears to be the right term. What was practically the last victim in this sordid quest of witch hunting happened to be a Deaf man. He was known as Dummy, the Witch of Sible Hedingham – this being a village to the north of Braintree in Essex. His true name is not known, however he had worked in Braintree as a fortune teller and then moved to Sible Hedingham still practising the same work. He could not communicate because his tongue had been cut out.

He had lived in Hedingham for about eight years until a certain Emma Smith rejected a request from him to stay the night in the shed behind her beer-shop in nearby Ridgewell. His otherwise general abode was described as a ‘wretched accommodation’ (it was a mud hut in fact) thus anywhere else must have seemed like luxury. She refused and he shook his stick at her and then he made a sign on the door of her beer-shop at Ridgewell. At least one newspaper (The Sun 24th September 1863) implies Dummy had written a message implying that Smith would be ill in ten days time. She claims he had ‘cursed’ her with a disease and very soon after she fell ill. The act was taken as a sign that Dummy was responsible for the illness. Her husband threatened the Deaf man with violence and death unless the ‘spell’ was withdrawn.

Its said Dummy used ‘grotesque gestures’ and was very excitable, thus many took this as it being evidence of a person possessed by witchcraft. Extract from the Sussex Advertiser Saturday 19th March 1864.

Anyhow Smith and Stammers certainly had the upper hand and used that to their advantage. Dummy was at the Swan Inn as usual on the 3rd September 1863 when Emma Smith happened to visit the Inn where she spotted Dummy, then ventured across and challenged him once again to withdraw the ‘curse’. His lack of communication however was responsible for the fate that followed.

The Swan, Sible Hedingham, where the Deaf fortune teller was apparently found and then beaten up and drowned elsewhere.

Smith screamed at Dummy and other people too joined in. This was no doubt derived from what Smith was accusing toward the unfortunate victim and the others, being hearing, feeling quite compelled to support their peers. This resulted in Dummy being yanked from his seat and pushed to the floor, where many, including Smith herself, had kicked him quite profusely. Smith then dragged him to the nearby brook and pushed him in. When he tried to get out Smith and her husband pulled Dummy up by his legs and arms and dipped him in a way that would ensure his face stayed down in what was clearly a much deeper water.

The onlookers who had gathered around the scene, first at the Swan Inn and then followed the melee where they joined in the ‘celebrations’ or whatever it was by way of throwing stones at Dummy who was immersed in the water – had by now became quite concerned things were perhaps going a bit too far. Dummy was pulled out of the water and left on the bank to dry out. He was left completely abandoned and quite severely injured. He was discovered by a local resident, a Mrs Bruty and another female, who took him back to his hut to try and effect recovery but it was no good. Not long after he was taken to Halstead for further assistance in aiding his recovery, but by then it was too late.

Dummy’s death certificate dated 2nd November 1863. Essex Police Museum.

At least one newspaper (The Dublin Evening Mail 26th September 1863) had the insight to say what had happened harked back to the days of the Witchfinder General. The newspaper slates the parties involved, even Dummy himself, but particularly lambasts those who furthered a belief that witchcraft was indeed a thing – as well as having ensured the victim was ‘swum’ – and that was indeed a conformation the locals were possessed by visions of witchcraft.

This next but shorter bit comes from the Lyttleton Times, Christchurch, New Zealand, 26th November 1863. It also discusses the easily led beliefs that people tend to have when it comes to magical powers, witchcraft and the devil:

As we read the report, we can easily understand that people were really bewitched – that is to say , were actually smitten in mind and body by the imprecations of a fellow-creature pretending to exert such power. There is no need to doubt the truth of the stories related; but neither, on the other hand, is there any need to accept the traditional moral, nor to assume any intervention of the devil. Wizards and witches have undoubtedly existed, but they were not people in league with the powers of evil. They were people, possibly, with greater knowledge than their neighbours, possibly with stronger minds, possibly with no superiority at all, but capable of unscrupulously turning to account the attributes with which popular belief had invested them. The rest followed as a matter of course. Their pretensions gave the actual power. Possunt quia posse videntur. The results they produced were just as real as if the faculty had been derived, in very truth, from the devil. The people at Hedingham stood in such awe of this old Frenchman’s power that even after his death they were afraid of him.

The latin Possunt quia posse videntur translates to ‘They can because they think they can’. It emphasizes the power of self-belief and confidence in achieving goals (Quotes Net). It also suggests a belief in a power that is anything but (Reddit). Evidently mere suggestion can invoke many perceived realties – and much of it is undoubtedly oral.

To conclude the awful Sible Hedingham case, local police began an investigation into the events – and in due course Smith and Stammers were charged with having “unlawfully assaulted an old Frenchman commonly called Dummy, thereby causing his death.” A small girl known as Henrietta Garrod was able to give a description of what had happened for she had stood and watched the events from nearby whilst on her way to the Inn as part of an errand for her mum. The trial at took place Chelmsford Assizes in March 1864 and found both Smith and Stammers guilty. They were sentenced to six months hard labour.

What can be learnt from this? As I have indicated already, speech is a system that requires a demarcation that blurs the boundary between fantasy and reality. Basically its hard to know where truth lies. And that is assuming there were truths that could be beholden. Creating folk-devils is one thing and telling porkies is another. But so is the act of believing there are deities which one must converse with – or at least react accordingly. Its a case of devolving such a sense that such realties pertaining to a weird sort of exist in both the public and private spheres.

Certainly in the case of the Witchfinder General, it was all a matter of clever rhetoric and a reliance on the women being interrogated to succumb to what can only be a form of oral torture. If there is nothing to be had, a suggestion can be made that such and such a situation exists – and all sorts of inferences can be made from that. When its said ‘every new law means a new criminal’, that is impressionability true. Any statement, any decree, any edit, undoubtedly creates criminals and victims – where before there were none.

The notation of witches was based on assumptions and realities that simply did not exist. Such exploitation is nothing new and continues to this day. Many things that exist now should have gone the way of witchcraft and other dubious endeavours but sadly the status quo behind each and every society is too powerful. Thus the dominant society benefits from this oppression.