Witchcraft Craze in East Anglia

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Domains

Church of England (Anglicans)

Dates

Date of occurrence 1645-1647

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Resources

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The British Isles were much less inclined to witch trials than continental Europe during the Reformation, but there was a notorious outbreak in north Essex, which then spread the craze through Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire from the spring of 1645 through to August 1647. Some 300 men and women were accused of witchcraft, more than 100 of whom were executed.

The craze centred on the north Essex coastal town of Manningtree and may initially have had something to do with the characters of Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne, millenarian Protestants who lived in Manningtree and believed fervently in witchcraft and the need to purify England in order to prepare for the coming of the New Jerusalem. Hopkins and Stearne were supported by their lord of the

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302 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Witchcraft Craze in East Anglia". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 May 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1558, accessed 26 April 2024.]

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