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Witchcraft and Magic in England, c. 1400–1920 - Volumes
Volumes
4 volumes in Witchcraft and Magic in England, c. 1400–1920
British Library
Content sourced from the British Library includes rare manuscript sources, some dating from as early as the fourteenth century. Included are items from the collections of the physician, collector, and botanist, Sir Hans Sloane, and from that amassed by the British statesman, Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford (Sloane MS and Harley MS). These include treatises and tracts on astrology, alchemy, astronomy, and natural philosophy. There are printed works concerned with occult science, magic, and divinity, as well as astrological almanacs (e.g. 718.g.54.) and herbals (e.g. C.71.d.22.). The sources also include over 50 popular ballads, pamphlets, and tracts concerning accusations of witchcraft (e.g. G.19147.(3)), trials (e.g. C.27.a.2.), as well as condemnations and executions from the mid-sixteenth century onwards. In addition, the volume includes accounts—dating mainly from the seventeenth century—of visitations, possessions (e.g. E.367.(4.)), apparitions (e.g. G.13201.), curses, and poisonings. Read more →
The National Archives (UK)
The majority of the content sourced from TNA concerns the legal aspects and ramifications of witchcraft, notably its criminalisation during the mid-sixteenth century and the subsequent persecution of individuals perceived to be witches within the English legal system. Sources that date from the nineteenth century concern individuals who were convicted of vagrancy for “offences” such as fortune telling or spiritualism. The collection features content from 36 TNA series. Navy Board records date from 1675 (ADM 106). The Assizes records cover the period 1564–1684 (ASSI 16, ASSI 35, ASSI 44, and ASSI 45). Court of Chancery records cover the period 1407–1617 (C 1, C 2, C 3, and C 65). Exchequer records date from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (E 163). Documents sourced from the Court of King's Bench date from 1440 (KB 27 and KB 9). Metropolitan Police records date from 1910 (MEPO 2). Special Collection records date from 1426 (SC 8). The State Papers in this collection cover the period 1581–1758 (SP 9, SP 12, SP 14, SP 16, SP 18, SP 29, SP 35, SP 36, SP 46, SP 52, and SP 116). Court of Star Chamber records cover the period 1509–1624 (STAC, STAC 5, and STAC 8). Copyright Office records date from 1895 (COPY 1). Home Office records cover the period 1799–1931 (HO 17, HO 18, HO 45, HO 47, and HO 144). Privy Council records date from 1634 (PC 2). The diaries of the First Earl of Shaftesbury that are featured were written between 1645 and 1660. Also featured is an astrological almanac that was written by William Lilly. This was published in 1671 (PRO 30/24). Read more →
University College London Special Collections
Content sourced from this institution includes a number of manuscript sources, such as rare religious texts and tracts on alchemy, astrology, astronomy, mathematics, and natural philosophy. For example, there is a copy of De Sphaera Mundi and other tracts (MS LAT/15), dating from the fourteenth century, that were written by the British monk (he may have been from Halifax), astronomer, and mathematician, Johannes de Sacrobosco. You will also find a manuscript entitled Chyromantia et Natura Planetarum. Most likely dating from the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries, it contains a treatise on palmistry (chiromancy), that includes 21 colour diagrams of hands and symbols.Later printed material includes relevant literature generated during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (e.g. OGDEN CAR ESS), as well as anthropological studies of witchcraft and magic (e.g. STORE 15-1005/9), alongside texts authored by members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (e.g. HEBREW RARE). Read more →
The Folklore Society
Established in 1878, The Folklore Society is dedicated to the study of folklore in all its forms. Content sourced from its archive and library includes texts on folk customs in England, on the tradition of Wicca, and on witchcraft and trials of accused witches. The material sourced from this society include works that examined superstition and the supernatural, such as Samuel Werenfels’ A Dissertation upon Superstition in Natural Things (FLS L 11 WER), published in 1748, and John Gaule’s The History of Witches, Ghosts, and Highland Seers (FLS L 10 HIS), which was published c. 1800. There are also sources evidencing the pervasiveness of magical practice throughout England as late as the nineteenth century, such as an unpublished notebook (FLS/2/ADD/5) that was found buried in the garden of James Murrell (c. 1785–1860). Known as “cunning Murrell” or the “Essex wizard”, he was reported to have employed magical means to heal humans and animals and had the ability to exorcise malevolent spirits. The writings in his notebook are concerned with astrology, conjurations, and geomancy—identifying the sigils, spirits, and characters of the planets. Amidst the content sourced from The Folklore Society you will also find a series of photographs documenting paraphernalia relating to the practice of witchcraft in England that date from the late nineteenth century (FLS/1/7/2). There are likewise photographs of objects that were concealed within buildings to protect against witchcraft. Sources dating from the 1960s (FLS/1/7/10) document more recent academic and public debates surrounding superstition and witchcraft. Read more →
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