Although England had developed this belief in science there were still many unanswered questions about the world which was unexplainable at the time. Perhaps then witchcraft was an answer for these mysteries societies faced such as crop failures, disease and sometimes just bad luck. By blaming witches for these events that occurred, it gave people an answer and whether right or wrong, it was the only answer the public had.
A typical ‘witch’ would usually be of lower class, a women usually divorced with perhaps a deformity or women with a physical appearance slightly different to other people. However records show a surprising number of men with physical differences were also targeted. These types of person were believed to be weak and therefore likely to give into the temptation of Satan, make a pact with him and inflict harm upon society.
One of the most famous ways in history to test if one was guilty of witchcraft was the ‘swimming of witches’ method. This type of trial involved attaching a rope around a person’s body and dunking them in the water, if they were to float then they would be considered guilty. The water was supposed to represent purity, anybody who floated was thought to have a pact with Satan and therefore rise to the top. Although this technique was not meant as a punishment many people drowned as a result. This type of trial was later outlawed as a superstitious and disorderly practice.
Stearne and Hopkins were two men famous for there witch-hunts during the 1640’s. By 1646 Hopkins had almost 150 hangings to his name and was well known in England for his hunts. Little is known about either of them but from records Hopkins is believed to be hot-headed, arrogant and very outgoing, he even named himself ‘Witchfinder General. By contrast his partner Stearne was very closed and ‘bookish’, he was not as notorious as Hopkins but had an involvement.
Surprisingly Hopkins was praised by the people and had a lot of public support, people who believed in witches saw him as a hero and when he arrived in Norfolk in 1646 he was welcomed by masses of people who believed he would be a solution to their problems. Although public opinion was with Stearne and Hopkins, there was a degree of criticism directed at them.
The turning point for Hopkins was in 1647 when critique of his with-hunting was laid before the judges in Norfolk. Although it is not known whether Hopkins was present or not it is known that later that year he created a pamphlet as a response to the criticism he faced titled ‘Discovery of the witches’. This pamphlet was a point-by-point reply to the critique; the content itself was full of lies and had no sense of logic to it. Although Hopkins defended by this point in time the public were becoming disillusioned and Hopkins did not continue his witch-hunts.
So in conclusion witchcraft in took place in England for only a short-period before the witch theory died out, however it was obviously a very much widely believed idea created to answer the questions irresolvable by society in that period. Although there were more hangings and prosecutions in other parts of Europe, Witchcraft was a very dark period in society where science and logic took a serious beating.