ROUGH INJUSTICE

Professor Marion Gibson reveals how England's early modern legal system dealt with suspected 'witches'

- Marion Gibson

People who were accused of witchcraft were tried in different ways based on where they lived and when. A witchcraft suspect in Innsbruck, Austria, in the 1480s would have been tried very differently to a suspect in Salem, Massachusetts, in the 1690s. To understand in detail the choices that were made about how to arrest and try a witch, let's focus on one legal system and one period of history: the legal unit of England and Wales, between 1550 and 1750. For most of this time period and across most communities, how did people go about trying a witch?

The first thing that a suspect would hear - let's call her Mary and say the year is 1590 - is a knock on the door. Outside would be a constable representing Mary's village or town. The constable was a male neighbour appointed by the community to look after everyday law and order. He was the ancestor of the modern police constable, although there was no professional police force. Instead, the constable worked with the local magistrate, and that was where he would take Mary now. The magistrate was a landowner in the area, a man with experience in the law - may be even legal training. It was his job to respond to local concerns about crime. If someone suspected Mary of casting a spell on their pig and killing it, for example, they would go to the magistrate and give a statement called an 'information'. Once Mary had been accused, the magistrate would have to arrest and question her. So he would send the constable to fetch her and together they would walk up to the big house. Mary would be deeply alarmed.

A SPELL BEHIND BARS