The Witches of Selwood Forest: Witchcraft and Demonism in the West of England, 1625-1700

Andrew Pickering

Mei 2017 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Tentang eBook ini

The ancient forest of Selwood straddles the borders of Somerset and Wiltshire and terminates in the south where these counties meet Dorset. Until now, a comprehensive study of its exceptionally rich history of demonological beliefs and witchcraft persecution in the early modern period has not been attempted. This book explores the connections between important theological texts written in the region, notably Richard Bernard’s Guide to the Grand-Jury Men (1627) and Joseph Glanvill’s Saducismus Triumphatus (1681), influential local families such as the Hunts and the Hills, and the extraordinary witchcraft episodes associated with Shepton Mallet, Brewham, Stoke Trister, and elsewhere. In particular, it focuses on a little-known case in the village of Beckington in 1689, and shows how this was not a late, isolated episode, but an integral part of the wider Selwood Forest witchcraft story.

Tentang pengarang

Andrew Pickering is a graduate of the universities of Birmingham, Keele, Bath and Leicester, UK. He is the Programme Manager for a Plymouth University BA(Hons) degree in History, Heritage and Archaeology delivered at Strode College in Street, Somerset. This is his fourth book on the history of witchcraft and witch-hunting.