The Dark Season

The glorious season of autumn is dwindling and the bleaker winter months are creeping upon us. However our ancestors had a very real and visceral dread of the cold, dark days and nights. Without twenty-first century comforts and luxuries, this was a season that could literally mean death.

In a primitive and superstitious age devoid of any science or technology, old customs provided the only solace for the troubles and problems that people suffered. Christianity was the official religion of this country, but the original belief system of the native people had never truly dissipated. In the absence of logic and reason, the old rituals were utilised, sometimes to ward off bad luck. These activities were clandestine, but they continued in spite of official censure. However these were not tolerated for long. Witchcraft in particular was considered a grave heresy by the authorities.

When King James VI ascended to the throne he was both fascinated and fearful of the occult. Later on in his reign he became convinced that his divine authority was under threat, and considered that it was even possible that his power would eventually be usurped by witchcraft. In 1604 he persuaded the English Parliament to make witchcraft a capital offence. The law meant that anyone convicted would receive the death penalty. Little did he know that one year later, the real threat to his life was manifested entirely differently. Catholic terrorists, rather than witches, had plotted to kill him instead.

James’ successor, King Charles I pursued this campaign of persecution with renewed vigour. A trusted lawyer, and clergyman’s son named Matthew Hopkins was appointed the “Witchfinder General”. The entire country was convinced that witches were a force for evil. However the concept of tolerance did not exist in those days and difference was not something to be celebrated, it was actively discouraged.

Societal conformity was almost rigidly adhered to, this was never questioned or challenged. Hopkins’ witch hunt targeted obvious outsiders, and very often their accusers were motivated solely by personal malice. Many of those accused of witchcraft were simply scapegoats. Failing harvests, sick livestock and infant deaths were tragedies.

However, people needed to find a cause and it was much easier to blame an errant neighbour than take any personal responsibility for what could have been either an honest mistake or an act of simple neglect. The solitary eccentrics of the village were the most likely people to be accused, and later condemned.

In remote communities, isolated individuals, many of them women, were convenient targets. Older women were especially vulnerable, a lonely and depressed elderly woman talking to herself could be accused of casting a devilish spell, those who could only rely on a cat for a companion were castigated for keeping an animal possessed with Satan’s spirit.

Hopkins’ and his fellow witch hunters were natural allies of the Puritan cause. Their agenda was inspired by the same level of piety, and bigotry. Amidst the turmoil of the English Civil Wars the most enterprising and ambitious amongst them were rewarded by their victorious leader Oliver Cromwell. They were granted land in Ireland. Other Puritans sought new opportunities in the British colonies of North America.

It is significant that the same sensibility that motivated the witch hunters in England found a home in the “new world”. The state of Massachusetts became notorious for its “witch trials”. Many of us can still see parallels between the witch hunts of today and the dark episodes of the past. It is a shame that this mode of thinking has become ingrained upon our consciousness and we cannot learn from history.