Matthew Hopkins
Matthew Hopkins (c. 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He was mainly active in East Anglia and claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament.[1]
The son of a
Early life
Little is known of Matthew Hopkins before 1644, and there are no surviving contemporary documents concerning him or his family.
Thus Matthew Hopkins could not have been born before 1619, and could not have been older than 28 when he died, but he may have been as young as 25.[20] Although James Hopkins had died in 1634,[14] when the iconoclast William Dowsing, commissioned in 1643 by the Parliamentarian Earl of Manchester[21] "for the destruction of monuments of idolatry and superstition", visited the parish in 1645 he observed that "there was nothing to reform".[22] Hopkins's brother John became Minister of South Fambridge in 1645 but was removed from the post a year later for neglecting his work.[23] Hopkins states in his book The Discovery of Witches (1647)[24] that he "never travelled far ... to gain his experience".[25]
In the early 1640s, Hopkins moved to
Witch-hunting
Following the Lancaster Witch Trials (1612–1634),
Witches then became heretics to Christianity, which became the greatest of their crimes and sins.[33] Within continental and Roman Law witchcraft was crimen exceptum: a crime so foul that all normal legal procedures were superseded. Because the Devil was not going to "confess", it was necessary to gain a confession from the human involved.[34]
The witch-hunts undertaken by Stearne and Hopkins were mainly in
According to his book The Discovery of Witches,
Hopkins and Stearne, accompanied by the women who performed the pricking, were soon travelling over eastern England, claiming to be officially commissioned by Parliament to uncover and prosecute witches. Together with their female assistants, they were well paid for their work, and it has been suggested that this was a motivation for his actions.[42] Hopkins stated[24] that "his fees were to maintain his company with three horses",[43][44] and that he took "twenty shillings a town".[44] The records at Stowmarket show their costs charged to the town to have been £23 (equivalent to £4,000 in 2021) plus his travelling expenses.[45]
The costs to the local community of Hopkins and his company were such that, in 1645, a special local tax rate had to be levied in
Methods of investigation
Methods of investigating witchcraft drew heavy inspiration from the
Hopkins and his assistants also looked for the
Opposition
Hopkins and his company quickly ran into opposition after their work began,[40] but one of his main antagonists was John Gaule, vicar of Great Staughton in Huntingdonshire.[54][55] Gaule had attended a woman from St Neots who was held in gaol charged with witchcraft until such time as Hopkins could attend. Upon hearing that the woman had been interviewed, Hopkins wrote a letter[54][56] to a contact asking whether he would be given a "good welcome". Gaule hearing of this letter wrote his publication Select Cases of Conscience touching Witches and Witchcrafts; London, (1646)[57] – dedicated to Colonel Walton of the House of Commons[54] – and began a programme of Sunday sermons to suppress witch-hunting.[56]
In Norfolk, both Hopkins and Stearne were questioned by justices of the assizes about the torturing and fees.[58] Hopkins was asked if methods of investigation did not make the finders themselves witches, and if with all his knowledge did he not also have a secret,[44][59] or had used "unlawful courses of torture".[59] By the time this court session resumed in 1647, Stearne and Hopkins had retired, Hopkins to Manningtree and Stearne to Bury St Edmunds.[44][59][60]
Colonial impact
Hopkins's witch-hunting methods were outlined in his book The Discovery of Witches, which was published in 1647. These practices were recommended in law books.[61] During the year following the publication of Hopkins's book, trials and executions for witchcraft began in the New England colonies with the hanging of Alse Young of Windsor, Connecticut, on May 26, 1647, followed by the conviction of Margaret Jones. As described in the journal of Governor John Winthrop, the evidence assembled against Margaret Jones was gathered by the use of Hopkins's techniques of "searching" and "watching".[61]
Jones's execution was the first in a
Death and legacy
Matthew Hopkins died at his home in
What historian James Sharpe has characterised as a "pleasing legend" grew up around the circumstances of Hopkins's death, according to which he was subjected to his own swimming test and executed as a witch, but the parish registry at Mistley confirms his burial there.[15]
Notes
- ^ At this time the New Year did not occur until 25 March; all Old Style Dates have been rendered as New Style, with the year beginning on 1 January
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-1-55553-165-2
- Cabell, Craig (2006), Witchfinder General: The Biography of Matthew Hopkins, Sutton Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7509-4269-0
- Deacon, Richard (1976), Matthew Hopkins: Witch Finder General, Frederick Muller, ISBN 978-0-584-10164-5
- ISBN 978-0-7195-6120-7
- Geis, Gilbert; Bunn Ivan (1997), A Trial of Witches A Seventeenth–century Witchcraft Prosecution, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-17109-0
- ISBN 978-1169793521
- Robbins, Rossell Hope (1959), The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology, Peter Nevill
- Russell, Jeffrey B (1981), A History of Witchcraft, Thames & Hudson, ISBN 978-1-55553-165-2
- Seth, Robert (1969), Children Against Witches, Robert Hale Co., ISBN 978-0-7091-0603-6
- Sharpe, James (2002), "The Lancaster witches in historical context", in Poole, Robert (ed.), The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories, Manchester University Press, pp. 1–18, ISBN 978-0-7190-6204-9
- ISBN 978-0-14-013744-6
Further reading
- ISBN 978-1-5329-6891-4.
- Kramer, Heinrich; Sprenger, Jacob (1487). Malleus Maleficarum.
- Jensen, Gary F. (2006). The Path of the Devil: Early Modern Witch Hunts. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-4697-4.
- S2CID 4007652.
References
- ^ a b Robbins, Rossell Hope (1959). "Hopkins, Matthew". The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology. New York Crown Publishers.
After Essex, he turned to Norfolk and Suffolk. By the next year, he had extended his operations with a team of six - himself, John Stearne, and four prickers - to the counties of Cambridge, Northampton, Huntingdon, and Bedford. He had become indeed the Witch Finder General.
- ^ Notestein 1911: p. 195
- ^ Russell 1981: pp. 97–98
- ^ Thomas 1971: p. 537, ... in Essex there were no executions after 1626 until 1645.
- ^ Deacon 1976: p. 41
- ^ Notestein 1911: p. 164
- ^ Thomas 1971: p. 528
- ^ Sharpe 2002, p. 3
- ^ Notestein 1911: p. 194, quoting Stearne who "boasted that he knew of 200"
- ^ Notestein 1911: p. 195, quoting James Howell Familiar Letters, II 551, dates February 3, 1646/7 of "near 300"
- ^ Thomas 1971: pp. 544, 537,"... when the campaign of Matthew Hopkins and his associates resulted in the execution of several hundred witches ..."
- ^ Cabell 2006: p. 9; it is the author's opinion that "unfortunately one cannot dispute that all Hopkins documentation was deliberately destroyed after his death".
- ^ a b Gaskill 2005: p. 9
- ^ a b c Deacon 1976: p. 13
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/13751. Retrieved 18 October 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Deacon 1976: pp. 15–17
- ^ Deacon 1976: pp. 13, 17
- ^ Gaskill 2005: p. 23; Deacon 1976: p. 17; quoting James Hopkins's last will and testament
- ^ Knowles, George. "Matthew Hopkins – Witch–finder General". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
- ^ Cabell 2006: p. 6
- ^ Cabell 2006: p. 19
- ^ Gaskill 2005: p. 13
- ^ Deacon 1976: p. 14
- ^ a b c The Discovery of Witches – In Answer to Several Queries, Lately Delivered to the Judges of Assize for the County of Norfolk; London; 1647
- ^ Cabell 2006: p. 15
- ^ Gaskill 2005: p. 23
- ^ Gaskill 2005: p. 27
- ^ Deacon 1976: pp. 58–59
- ^ "Witchcraft Trials". The National Archives. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
SP 16/269 – SP16/271
- ^ Gaskill 2005: pp. 46–47
- ^ Thomas 1971: p 543; Gaskill 2005: p 47
- ^ Thomas 1971: pp. 521, 542–543
- ^ Thomas 1971: pp. 542–543
- ^ Robbins 1959: p. 498
- ^ Deacon 1976: p. 39
- ^ Notestein 1911: p. 197
- ^ Gaskill 2005: p. 79
- ^ Cabell 2006: p. 46
- ^ Deacon 1976: pp. 70–71 Deacon proposing that Hopkins knew John Thurloe future spy master for Cromwell, who facilitated any travelling. See also .Cabell 2006: p33
- ^ a b Thomas 1971: p. 545
- ^ Notestein 1911: p. 201
- ^ Russell 1981: p98
- ^ Cabell 2006: p36
- ^ a b c d Notestein 1911: p. 193
- ^ Notestein 1911: p183 & p193; quoting A.G. Hollingsworth, History of Stowmarket (Ipswich 1844)
- ^ Thomas 1971: p544, quoting Ipswich and East Suffolk R.O. Quarterly Sessions Order Book, 1639 – 57, and Memorials of Old Suffolk, ed V.B.Redstone(1908).
- ^ a b Notestein 1911: p. 178
- ^ Hopkins, Matthew (1647). The Discovery of Witches. Query 10.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Notestein 1911: p. 167; three days and nights of "watching" brought Elizabeth Clarke to "confess many things";
- ^ a b Cabell 2006: p. 22
- ^ Robbins 1959: p. 552
- ^ Robbins 1959: p. 398
- ^ Robbins 1959: p. 469; ... justification for shaving applied especially, but not exclusively, in England"
- ^ a b c Notestein 1911: p. 187
- ^ Gaskill 2005: pp. 219–220
- ^ a b Gaskill 2005: p. 220
- ^ Gaule, John (17 May 2014). "Select Cases of Conscience Touching Witches and Witchcraft".
- ^ Robbins 1959: p. 252
- ^ a b c Gaskill 2005: p. 238
- ^ Robbins 1959: p. 253
- ^ a b Jewett, Clarence F. The memorial history of Boston: including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630–1880. Ticknor and Company. 1881 Pgs. 133–137
- ^ a b Fraden, Judith Bloom, Dennis Brindell Fraden. The Salem Witch Trials. Marshall Cavendish. 2008. Pg. 15
- ^ Upham, Caroline (1895). Salem Witchcraft in Outline. E. Putnam. pp. 5.
- ^ The Death Warrant of Bridget Bishop
- ^ Death Warrant for Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth How & Sarah Wilds,
- ^ Boyer & Nissenbaum 1972: p. 8
- ^ Gaskill 2005:p. 263
- ^ Gaskill 2005: p. 283
- ^ "Rossell Hope Robbins". Rossell Hope Robbins. Good Reads. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
- ^ Robbins 1959: p. 248
External links
- Works by Matthew Hopkins at Project Gutenberg
- The Discovery of Witches at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Matthew Hopkins at Internet Archive
- Animated/Audio Story of Hopkins and his demise
- History of the Essex Witch Trials
- Witch-Finder General by George Knowles
- Diary of Witchfinder General trials published online