Citation

O'Brien SI. Preternature 2016; 5(1): 29-58.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Penn State University Press)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

Matthew Hopkins took a leading role in finding and prosecuting witches during the East Anglia trials of the 1640s. Hopkins's methods and demonology, and the witch-hunt itself, have been described as an aberration in English witch prosecution, due to Hopkins's use of "continental" demonology and extreme measures. This article will argue that Hopkins used methods and demonology that were not "continental" or alien to English beliefs and trials. This article will also explore Hopkins's demonology and methods through a critical reading of his pamphlet The discovery of witches. Close analysis of this tract shows that Hopkins's demonology is in fact part of mainstream English demonology, and that his methods were influenced by both elite and popular conceptions of the crime of witchcraft and of how to deal with accused witches.

Language: en