and Wales, it was permitted in Scotland,
and less ‘formal’ types of torture were used
at a local level, often presided over by a
magistrate or local constable. One such
method was sleep deprivation, whereby the
accused would be forced to walk back and
forth until exhausted and then denied rest.
In Scotland, thumb screws and leg crushers
were also used.
Another, more public and informal type
of trial was ‘swimming’ the accused. The
victim’s right thumb would be tied to their
left big toe and they would be thrown into a
nearby pond or river. If they sank, they were
innocent; if they floated, they had been
rejected by the water as a servant of the
devil, in a type of reverse baptism.
As a capital offence, witchcraft trials in
England were held before a judge and a jury
under the common law system, during
which evidence against the accused was
presented. Court records reveal stories
of witches flying out of windows on
broomsticks or cavorting with satanic imps.
There are many theories to explain why the
accused related such fantastical stories to
open-mouthed juries – some historians cite
mental health disorders; others attribute it
to attention-seeking.
“Contrary to popular belief,” explains
Professor Owen Davies of the University
of Hertfordshire, “witch trials were not a
foregone conclusion; only 25 per cent of
those tried across the period were found
guilty and executed. In fact, the total
number of people tried for witchcraft in
England throughout the period was no
more than 2,000.”
Scotland had a quarter of England’s
population, yet tried 2,500 people and had
an execution rate of around 67 per cent.
Wales, however, held very few trials – nomore than 34. This has mainly been
attributed to cultural differences and
language barriers, as well as a tendency
to explain misfortune as work of fairies.
This was also the case in Ireland.
By the late 17th century – thanks to a
combination of judicial scepticism, low
prosecution rates and the costs of pursuing
a case through the courts – the number of
accusations of witchcraft had plummeted.
Many people turned instead to ‘cunning
folk’ (‘wise’ men and women who practised
‘good’ witchcraft) and healers to combat
malevolent forces. Witchcraft was finally
decriminalised in Britain in 1736 – though
people were still being accused of it as late as
the 19th century.Pendle Hill in Lancashire saw
the most famous witch hunt trial
in 1612, resulting in the deaths
of ten men and womenOwen Davies is a professor of social history at
the University of Hertfordshire and author of
Paganism: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2011)