"The King is the greatest enemy he hath in the world". The relationship between witchcraft and royal power in Newes from Scotland (1591-1592) and King James VI's Daemonologie (1597) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Daemonology and Divine Right: The Politics of Witchcraft in Late Sixteenth-Century Scotland
This thesis examines the connection between the personal and political ideologies of King James VI of Scotland, his involvement in the two mass witch panics which took place during 1590-1 and 1597, and the writing of his treatise, Daemonologie, all of which occurred at a time of religious, social and political turmoil during the late sixteenth century. King James believed in the theory of divine right, and that he was accountable only to God. This belief led to conflict between James and his Kirk, with the Presbyterian ministers overtly questioning his ability to rule effectively. The witch-hunts which occurred in 1590-1 reflect James’ reaction to this conflict, and illustrate his ability to manipulate the existing events in order to further his own aims; namely to reinforce his divine right to rule, as well as assert the legitimacy of his throne. James’ treatise, Daemonologie, which is unique in that it is the only work of its kind written by an early modern European monarch, reflects both his involvement in the witch trials, as well as his views regarding kingship. Ultimately, James’ involvement in the trials and the writing of Daemonologie served to affirm his authority by underlining his belief in his God-given right to rule, and legitimized his unstable regime by reinforcing his authority over both the Kirk and his government. During the course of this research, numerous sixteenth-century documents, including personal correspondence, trial records and contemporary accounts were examined in order to determine the many intricacies connecting James, the witch trials, and Daemonologie, as well as the complex nature of their relationship. This thesis is organized chronologically, with individual sections highlighting the events which gave rise to the witch panics, the political climate at the time, the trials, and Daemonologie itself.
This article compares and contrasts England’s first three Witchcraft Acts (1542, 1563, and 1604) with demonological treatises published by English theologians and clerics between 1580 and 1627 with the intention of highlighting the different ways both types of texts defined witches and their actions. This research focuses on cunning folk as healers to emphasize the disparity of interests and aims that underpinned the representation of witchcraft in civil law and religious treatises concerning that issue. I suggest that during Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, discussions about the definition of witchcraft became one of the battlefields where those who thought the English Reformation had achieved its ends and those who propelled a more thorough disciplining of the population to create a godly society collided. I argue that demonological works served, among other purposes, to express grievances about the official religious policy
Crime, history and societies, 2003
Already in the first sentences of the preface to this book Sharpe shows that he is aware of the present flourishing of the historiography of witchcraft. Indeed, hardly a month passes without the appearance of new syntheses, studies, theoretical works or source editions. So, one is inclined to ask, why add a new title to this rapidly expanding list? The reason simply is that despite this booming, books like this one are only rarely produced. It is not meant as a contribution to debates of spec...
The objective of this paper is to introduce the social and political significance of witches during the Shakespeare's time and examine Shakespeare's use of the witches to affirm the " natural " monarchial and patriarchal order. This paper is going to examine the socio-cultural background of the 16th and 17th centuries from the perspective of popular beliefs regarding the Supernatural. The 'normality' of witchcraft beliefs is, indeed, worth emphasizing on. On one side, we have authors like Richard Baxter who, in The Certainty of The World of Spirits (1691) has excavated historical details of apparitions and witchcraft, and on the other side, we have critics who accept the play's witchcraft only as a form of psychological symbolism. However, witches and witchcraft practices were a scary reality of the 16th and 17th centuries in England. Witchcraft beliefs were, and still are very popular in many societies. Each period had its superstitions as well as specific attitudes. This reiterates that people have always believed in ghosts, spirits and witches as well as in individuals with abnormal powers and abilities. It doesn't indicate that " witches eat their own children, cause sickness, plague or famine, or have sexual relations with devils " but serves as evidence of the above. We have to take in account of the function of such beliefs, and more importantly, the description of the actual beliefs and how it functions within a particular cosmology. [Type text][Type text][Type text]
Book review: Witchcraft, Witch-Hunting, and Politics in Early Modern England
Cahiers Élisabéthains: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies, 2017
It has become something of a common place to insist on the plethoric nature of research on early modern witchcraft and witch hunts. Yet within this constellation of books, some shine brighter than others and Peter Elmer's latest book certainly illuminates the field if only through the imposing bulk of little-known evidence that the author conjures up. Since Keith Thomas's seminal work, historians have kept on revising some of his assumptions about what triggered the witch hunts and then their demise and more generally the decline of magic. A generation later, Stuart Clark showed that the demonological discourse permeated all the areas of early modern thinking and that the decline of witch trials could not be explained simply by the rise of New Science. Elmer's books focus on the political and religious context of English prosecutions, further trying to qualify a linear explanation of such a decline, while warning against reducing witch hunts to political opportunism. In his introduction, Elmer reminds the reader of the ambivalent status of witchcraft in early modern England, since it could either play an integrative role by reinforcing the normative behaviour, or, on the contrary, work as a subversive force by trying to undermine the established power. In any case, witchcraft invariably constituted a test of political legitimacy. Working with an impressive range of local archival funds, Elmer's main method is to reconstruct the immediate local context of each trial, recreating the networks of accusers, victims and magistrates involved, and, through such a series of microhistories, to look for more general patterns. It is, to quote the author, 'an exercise in contextualization' (8). And while explaining the motivations behind arraignments and convictions, he more broadly contends the role of political factors in shaping attitudes to witchcraft. After an introductory chapter, the rest of Elmer's book is divided into six chapters corresponding to six successive periods. But what might appear as a chronological and linear narrative, of the kind regularly denounced by Elmer, is in fact a division into time periods whose logic is to revolve around major crises within early modern English society. Chapter 2 covers a very long period including the reigns of Elizabeth and James I and is built around two emblematic cases. The first one is the masterfully