A Trial of Witches: A Seventeenth Century Witchcraft Prosecution - Softcover

Bunn, Ivan; Geis, Gilbert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415171091 ISBN 13: 9780415171090

Publisher: Routledge, 1997

Synopsis

In 1662, Amy Denny and Rose Cullender were accused of witchcraft, and, in one of the most important of such cases in England, stood trial and were hanged in Bury St Edmunds. A Trial of Witches is a complete account of this sensational trial and an analysis of the court procedures, and the larger social, cultural and political concerns of the period.
In a critique of the official process, the book details how the erroneous conclusions of the trial were achieved. The authors consider the key participants in the case, including the judge and medical witness, their institutional importance, their part in the fate of the women and their future careers.
Through detailed research of primary sources, the authors explore the important implications of this case for the understanding of hysteria, group mentality, social forces and the witchcraft phenomenon as a whole.

About this title

Review:

..."a compelling account of the prosecution and execution i 1662 of Amy Denny and Rose Cullender for witchcraft...The account is rich with details...."
-Choice
"Geis, an American criminologist, and Bunn, a local English historian, have combined to write a compelling account of the prosecution and execution in 1612 of Amy Denny and Rise Cullender for witchcraft. ...The account is rich in details...."
-"Choice, June 1998
"Geis and English historian Bunn do an admirable job of recasting the tribulations of the two women in a trial they characterize as rife with error. ... Besides its obvious historical interest, this work is a commentary on uncritical acceptance of information of dubious worth. For large public and academic libraries."
-"Library Journal, January 1998
"In addition to its value as a historic record, this book offers a tragic lesson in the extraordinary willingness of people to rely uncritically on tainted information anddo awful things."
-"Publisher's Weekly

Synopsis:

In 1662, Amy Denny and Rose Cullender were accused of witchcraft, and, in one of the most important of such cases in England, stood trial and were hanged in Lowestoft. This text is an in-depth study of this trial, and an analysis of the court procedures, and the larger social, cultural and political concerns of the period. In a critique of the official process, the book details how the erroneous conclusions of the trial were achieved. The authors consider the participants in the case, their institutional importance (the presiding judge was Matthew Hale, whose work is still cited in English case law and the verifying doctor was the prominent Sir Thomas Browne), their part in the fate of the women and their future careers. The Lowestoft trial was cited at the Salem trials against those who lost their lives there. Through detailed research of primary sources, the authors explore the important implications of this case for the understanding of hysteria, group mentality, social forces and the witchcraft phenomenon as a whole.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0415171091
• ISBN 13: 9780415171090
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 308