020 - Witchcraft in Tudor England

11/16/17 • 24 min

Henry VIII was a superstitious sort of bloke, one who was in his element spending his free time charging at another bloke who was also charging him while they both hold long and pointy bits of wood (some academic language for you there), and yet when faced with something he couldn't fight he ran away screaming.

Poison, prophecy, and witchcraft were all on his hit-list, as we see in this episode, as we cover the magical elements of both his reign and those of his two eldest surviving legitimate children; Edward VI and Mary I.

This episode primarily makes use of the following texts:

Alan MacFarlane, Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England, London, 1970Richard Deacon, Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General, London, 1976James Sharpe, Instruments of Darkness: Witchcraft in England, 1550-1750, London, 1996Robert Poole (ed.), The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories, Manchester, 2002Christina Larner and Alana MacFarlane, Witchcraft and Religion: the Politics of Popular Belief, Oxford, 1984Please see the full bibliography of the website.

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This episode primarily makes use of the following texts:

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Previous Episode

019 - The Eternal City and the Evil Eye

The Roman Empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Levant for centuries, and today's episode covers a few of the magical beliefs the superstitious Romans held. While it's hard to distinguish between organically Roman traits and those imported from the Greek world, the culture of Rome was certainly a mixture of the two, as can be seen in their beliefs in magic.

Today's episode primarily makes use of the following texts:

EpodesLivy, The History of RomeThe Twelve TablesM. W. Dickie, Magic and Magicians in the Greco-Roman World, 2002A. Parker, Protecting the Troops? Phallic Carvings in the North of Roman BritainPlease see the website for a full bibliography http://thehistoryofwitchcraft.co.uk

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Next Episode

021 - Gloriana? I Hardly Knew Her!

With the reign of England's first recognised Queen, Elizabeth I, we find a kingdom riven by sectarian violence and uncertainty. Today's episode gives a brief overview of her rule, and covers the various plots against the monarch and her advisers. We also return to the life of John Dee, the court magician who had been tried for treason during the reign of Mary, as well as hearing the adventures of various preachers and witch-hunting magistrates.

Website: http://thehistoryofwitchcraft.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/historyofwitchcraft/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistofWitch

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HistoryofWitchcraft

This episode primarily makes use of the following texts:

Witchcraft Statute ‘against Conjurations, Enchantments, and Witchcrafts, 1563

The Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584Gifford, George, A Dialogue Concerning Witches and Witchcrafts, 1593Ankerloo, Bengt and Clark, Stuart (eds.) Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Period of the Witch Trials, Philadelphia, 2002Deacon, Richard, Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General, London, 1976Sharpe, James, Instruments of Darkness: Witchcraft in England 1550-1750, London, 1996The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

For a full bibliography, please see the website.

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