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Witchcraft belief in colonial New England was primarily imported from England by the colonists and refreshed through transatlantic trade and communication networks. Ministers and judges in New England consulted English legal and theological works for advice on the practical matters of operating a witchcraft prosecution, as well as for spiritual revelations on how witches operated.
Drawing on the texts themselves, we trace how early continental demonologies influenced English theories of witchcraft and how English books and pamphlets in turn influenced the methods used in New England’s witch hunts. Then we present some of the many ways we can know the New England witch trials featured beliefs and methods popularized by English writing, reviewing techniques for identifying and convicting witches.
In this talk, we’ll cover the Malleus Maleficarum, King James’ Demonology, and works by William Perkins, Richard Bernard, and other English authors, comparing them to themes prevalent in New England books of the colonial period.
Resources
Read Witch Hunting Manuals Online
- Early English Books Online
- Cornell University Library Digital Witchcraft Collection
- Project Gutenberg
- HathiTrust Digital Library
- Internet Archive
Find Specific Works on Witchcraft and the Devil
- 1584 – Reginald Scot – The Discoverie of Witchcraft
- 1593 – George Gifford – A Dialogue concerning Witches & Witchcrafts
- 1597 – King James VI – Dæmonologie
- 1608 – William Perkins – A Discourse of the Damned Art of Witchcraft
- 1616 – John Cotta – The Triall of Witch-craft
- 1618 – Michael Dalton – The Countrey Justice
- 1627 – Richard Bernard – A Guide to Grand-Jury Men
- 1646 – John Gaule – Select Cases of Conscience Touching Witches and Witchcrafts
- 1647 – Matthew Hopkins – The Discovery of Witches
- 1648 – John Stearne – A Confirmation and Discovery of Witchcraft
- 1681 – Joseph Glanvill – Saducismus Triumphatus
- 1683 – Joseph Keble – An Assistance to Justices of the Peace
- 1691 – Richard Baxter – The Certainty of the World of Spirits
Books
- The Routledge History of the Devil in the Western Tradition, Richard Raiswell, Michelle D. Brock, David R. Winter, eds.
- The Hammer of Witches: A Complete Translation of the Malleus Malegicarum, Christopher S. MacKay
- The Devil in Tudor and Stuart England, Darren Oldridge
- English Demonologies, Darren Oldridge
- The Devil: A Very Short Introduction, Darren Oldridge
- The Science of Demons, Jan Machielsen
- Knowing Demons, Knowing Spirits in the Early Modern Period, Michelle D. Brock, Richard Raiswell, David R. Winter, eds.
- The Medieval Devil: A Reader, Richard Raiswell, David R. Winter, ed.