Welsh Witches: Narratives of Witchcraft and Magic from 16th and 17th Century Wales
Authentic accounts of witchcraft accusations in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England and Wales are rare. There is of course a sensational pamphlet literature based on witchcraft trials but this source can be problematic, especially as the trial documents have disappeared. However, a rich archive of pre-trial documents relating to witchcraft accusations has been discovered in the records of the Court of Great Sessions of Wales. These unique documents are the complaints of those who believed themselves bewitched, the depositions of witnesses, and the examinations of suspected witches.
The Court of Great Sessions had the power of life and death and sent many convicted felons to the gallows. We know exactly when the first prosecution for murder by witchcraft took place in Wales. In 1594 Gwen ferch Ellis of Denbighshire was tried for felonious witchcraft, found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. This case was something of a cause celebre. Remarkably the record survives of Gwen’s interrogation by the bishop of St Asaph as well as the depositions of her accusers.
Standard Edition: 250 pages, hardcover in buckram cloth, two colour foil block to front and back, gold foil block to spine, head and tail bands, natural wibalin endpapers bordering 100gm munken cream paper, ribbon.
Authentic accounts of witchcraft accusations in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England and Wales are rare. There is of course a sensational pamphlet literature based on witchcraft trials but this source can be problematic, especially as the trial documents have disappeared. However, a rich archive of pre-trial documents relating to witchcraft accusations has been discovered in the records of the Court of Great Sessions of Wales. These unique documents are the complaints of those who believed themselves bewitched, the depositions of witnesses, and the examinations of suspected witches.
The Court of Great Sessions had the power of life and death and sent many convicted felons to the gallows. We know exactly when the first prosecution for murder by witchcraft took place in Wales. In 1594 Gwen ferch Ellis of Denbighshire was tried for felonious witchcraft, found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. This case was something of a cause celebre. Remarkably the record survives of Gwen’s interrogation by the bishop of St Asaph as well as the depositions of her accusers.
Standard Edition: 250 pages, hardcover in buckram cloth, two colour foil block to front and back, gold foil block to spine, head and tail bands, natural wibalin endpapers bordering 100gm munken cream paper, ribbon.
Authentic accounts of witchcraft accusations in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England and Wales are rare. There is of course a sensational pamphlet literature based on witchcraft trials but this source can be problematic, especially as the trial documents have disappeared. However, a rich archive of pre-trial documents relating to witchcraft accusations has been discovered in the records of the Court of Great Sessions of Wales. These unique documents are the complaints of those who believed themselves bewitched, the depositions of witnesses, and the examinations of suspected witches.
The Court of Great Sessions had the power of life and death and sent many convicted felons to the gallows. We know exactly when the first prosecution for murder by witchcraft took place in Wales. In 1594 Gwen ferch Ellis of Denbighshire was tried for felonious witchcraft, found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. This case was something of a cause celebre. Remarkably the record survives of Gwen’s interrogation by the bishop of St Asaph as well as the depositions of her accusers.
Standard Edition: 250 pages, hardcover in buckram cloth, two colour foil block to front and back, gold foil block to spine, head and tail bands, natural wibalin endpapers bordering 100gm munken cream paper, ribbon.