Under Henry VIII, witchcraft became a legally prosecutable offense punishable by death. The accused were tried in secular courts, and pamphlets describing these events were circulated all over England starting in the late 1550’s. Over the next sixty years ideals about witchcraft would be steadily refined as court cases set precedents and monarchs created new laws.
Pamphlet’s initially described witches as elderly poor woman who kept a demonic pet or ‘familiar.’ This creature usually took the form of an animal—cat, toad, hybrid, etc.—and had the ability to change forms. The demons name, however, seems to remain consistent in most cases. The witch would have to pay the demon for services rendered usually by sacrificing her blood. The ‘familiar’ would either suck the blood from the witches flesh, or she would prick herself to draw out the demons reward. This act would leave a mark that became one of the main ways of proving an individual’s participation in witchery. Occasionally a witch would prick pictures or dolls that resembled their victims to inflict torment, but their main vehicle for destruction was always through a ‘familiar.’ Witches usually spoke in Latin to command the devil’s dark power, and seem to always use their abilities to seek revenge against those that have denied them alms or have cheated them in some fashion. These witch traits were considered the norm throughout England, and are illustrated well in a trail at Chelmsford.
In August 1556, Elizabeth Francis, Mother Agnes Waterhouse, and Joan Waterhouse were executed for witchcraft. They were accused of keeping a ‘familiar’ named Satan, who was used to wreak havoc on villagers and livestock. Elizabeth and Agnes were both poor old women, and confessed to commanding the ‘familiar’ in Latin. They explained how they learned and how long they practiced witchery. Joan, however, was only eighteen years old and denied learning witchcraft. She picked up the ability to use the ‘familiar’ by mimicking her mother not by routine practice. She did, however, confess that she commanded the ‘familiar’ to torment Agnes Brown for denying her bread and cheese. Joan’s statement was inadequate for the courts so they sought more evidence from a testimony by Agnes Brown. The twelve-year-old child accused the Waterhouse’s of sending their ‘familiar’ to torment and eventually kill her. The Waterhouse’s argued against some of Brown’s details, but once the court discovered marks from the ‘familiar’ it did not matter. The three women were hanged based on their own confessions, Brown’s testimony, and the discovery of marks on their skin.
Witches were still executed for the reasons above after 1590. The mark of the ‘familiar’ was further enforced by legislation solidifying this traditional way of identifying witchcraft. James I created laws that made the ‘familiar’ the primary form of evidence, followed by the mark of the demon, and confession. In later pamphlets, the ‘familiar’ is sometimes seen entering into a pact with the witch. The Lancashire trial of 1612 was the first recorded pact between a demon and a witch in England. The contract would entail the evil spirits labor for a predetermined number of years. Payment for this service was not only the blood of the witch but also the soul. By this time, the ‘familiar’ would also be less likely controlled or directed by speaking Latin. The Lancashire case depicts the use of Latin to conjure drinks and enact charms, but the ‘familiar’ of Elizabeth Southerns and Anne Whittle was commanded in the vernacular. Another change in the outlook of the witch pamphlets after 1590 was the class of the people involved. Initially witchcraft was a matter for the poor. None of the individuals involved in the Chelmsford case were wealthy, but those participating in the Lancashire trail were of the middling class. Other court cases illustrate the death of some lesser nobles indicating that class status did not guarantee immunity to witchery.
Eleven of the thirty-five witches tried at Lancashire were executed. They were condemned for their acquaintance with a ‘familiar,’ and the injuries caused to others because of this relationship. The Chelmsford witches were hanged for the same reason. The differences occur only in the details of the ‘familiar,’ and the use of Latin in witchcraft. Both cases saw witchcraft used to injure or kill others, and the evidence condemning these witches were extremely similar. It is important to note that the middle and upper classes were more involved after 1590, but the look, feel, and smell of witchery stayed relatively consistent throughout sixteenth and seventeenth century England.
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