Leicester boy

The Leicester boy trial was one of Leicester's most notorious witchcraft cases, in which a thirteen-year-old boy publicly accused 15 women of causing a possession within him. The case took place in Husbands Bosworth, a small village not far from Leicester in 1616. John Smith fell into a series of violent fits, not even several men could hold him down. He made strange noises, and, as noted in a letter from Alderman Robert Heyrick to his brother Sir William,[1] he would beat himself with inhuman strength, yet somehow remain unharmed. He gave extensive details on their familiars. The two judges, Sir Humphrey Winch and Sir Ranulph Crewe quickly condemned the women, rounding all 15 of them up. Nine of them were tried, found guilty and hanged for allegedly possessing John Smith. The other six were placed in prison to wait their turns. None of them were named before being hanged. King James I happened to be passing through about a month later, and heard what was going on. He called for John Smith to be questioned, and had little trouble determining the child was fraudulent. He broke down, and confessed the truth. Of the six women who had been imprisoned, only five of them were released, as one of them died inside. According to a timeline, the woman who had died told the jailer she was working with the witches against Smith the day before she died. She had begged him not to say anything because the witches would harm her.

It was not until recently that courts began to consider child testimonies again, though they still deeply consider it before trusting them. Due to the Leicester Boy case, and others like it, many judges were wary of trusting anyone, especially children, in claims of witchcraft. The two judges associated with the cases had their reputation seriously damaged, and the story was transformed into a satirical comedy making fun of them in The Devil Is an Ass by Ben Jonson.

Religious and Political Background

During the time of the witch trials, it was not difficult to rile people up over accusations of witchcraft. The Witchcraft Act of 1604 had just been passed by King James. The act, which was named An Act Against Conjuration, Witchcraft and dealing with evil and wicked spirits, altered the law and made witchcraft a felony punishable by death. It added that it would be without the benefit of the clergy for anyone who "invoked evil spirits or communed with familiars". Ironically it was the King himself who put an end to the Leicester hysteria.

Events Leading Up to the Trial

Before the trial, James Smith began to have these strange fits during which he exhibited inhuman levels of strength. No number of men could hold the boy down, and he would beat himself, sometimes up to 300 times at once, all over his body without leaving a mark.. During these fits, he would speak in strangled phrases and contract his "whole body within the compass of a Joyn'd-stool".[2] He would write in Hebrew and Greek characters. He told the judges, and others, that he was being possessed by witches' familiars, and described them at great length. He listed off "horse, cat, dog, pullemar, fish, code"[3] and made out the animal's cries based on which was allegedly possessing him. The boy's family called in the Bosworth witches, nine of them, to attempt to exorcise the boy.[4] However, they were unable to. It was July 1616. The women were hauled off, and hung. Later in the year, October, he accused six more women of witchcraft against him. The women were listed as anonymous, and unnamed,[5] and hauled off for inquisition.

The Trials

It was 18 July 1616. The first six women were made to chant a counter spell, which was intended to identify them as witches. John Smith would cry out in pain and distress anytime they didn't chant:

I such a one chardge the hors. Yf I be a wiche, that thou com forthe of the child.[6]

All nine of them were hung as witches in the trial that same day. The rest were imprisoned by the judges of assize, Sir Humphrey Winch and Sir Ranulph Crewe later in the year. Allegedly, one of the six women, listed as anonymous, confessed to the jailer that she was "in concert with her familiar, and with the other accused witches, to torment Smyth."[7] She begged him to keep her secret, and the following day, she died in the cell.

King James came passing through, and caught wind of the witchcraft trials. He was curious, and wanted to see who had made the accusation. Upon learning that it was a mere 13-year-old boy, he summoned him as quickly as possible, and promptly declared him to be a fraud. The five survivors were released from prison.

Aftermath and Legacy

After the trials, Sir Humphrey and Sir Ranulph's careers took a rough hit, though they remained as judges for some time. English judges began to consider cases much more cautiously, in particular if they were told by children.[8] King James gave Ben Jonson the permission to write The Devil is an Ass, in which he ridiculed them for their gullibility. Unfortunately, King James was not quick enough to save all 15 innocent women, however five of them survived.

Literary Adaptations and Other Media

• A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718, Wallace Notestein

• King James I and "The Devil is an Ass" Vol. 9, No. 2, G.L. Kittredge

• Witch Hunts in the Western World: Persecution and Punishment from the Inquisition through the Salem Trials, Brian Pavlac

• Ben Jonson: A Life, Ian Donaldson

• Dictionary of Witchcraft, David Pickering

Media

• The Witches of Husbands Bosworth, http://liberalengland.blogspot.com/2009/08/witches-of-husbands-bosworth.html 29 August 2009

• The Witch Trial That Made Legal History, Frances Cronin, BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14490790

Similar Cases

Pendle Witch Trials

Jennet Device, 9 years old, was the key witness in the Pendle Witch Trials against 12 people who were charged with murder of 10 people with witchcraft. 10 were tried in 1612 as a group,[9] and were hanged for child murder and cannibalism. Device gave evidence against her mother, brother and sister. Later in life, she was tried and found guilty in 1633–1634, and imprisoned until death.

Torsåker Witch Trials

The Torsåker witch trials in Sweden were intense, and children were actively used to give the trial the priest, Laurentius Christophori Hornæus, wanted. He would torture them psychologically and physically until they would say what he wanted them to say. 15 October over 100 people were accused, and a majority were executed. This went on until 1676, when authorities were finally able to prove that the children were falsely testifying.

Sarah Good

Sarah Good, along with Sarah Osborne and Tituba, were accused in February 1692[10] of afflicting Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, two young girls who were having hysterical fits and convulsions. The whole town wanted to rid themselves of Sarah Good, who was considered a homeless beggar. She simply repeated over and over that she was falsely accused. Her execution was in July 1692.

References

1. "Witches in Early Modern England". Brimstone. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
2. Nichols, John (1898). A Letter from Alderman Robert Heyrick of Leicester, to His Brother Sir William, in the Year 1616.
3. Nichols, John (1898). A Letter from Alderman Robert Heyrick of Leicester, to His Brother Sir William, in the Year 1616.
4. "Bosworth Witches". Husbands Bosworth. 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
5. Carlson, Marc (12 July 2004). "Witches and Witchtrials in England, the Channel Islands, Ireland and Scotland". Retrieved 28 March 2015.
6. Carlson, Marc (12 July 2004). "Witches and Witchtrials in England, the Channel Islands, Ireland and Scotland". Retrieved 28 March 2015.
7. Nichols, John (1898). A Letter from Alderman Robert Heyrick of Leicester, to His Brother Sir William, in the Year 1616.
8. Cronin, Frances (17 August 2011). "The Witch Trial That Made Legal History". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
9. Mastin, Luke. "The Witch Trials – Pendle Witch Trials (England, 1612 – 1634)". Witchcraft and Witches. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
10. Jobe, Sara (Spring 2001). "Sarah Good". Salem Witch Trials. Retrieved 28 March 2015.