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10 of Britain’s most infamous witch trials

The prosecution and hanging of two men and eight women on Pendle Hill in Lancashire in 1612 has long caught the public imagination, the story being retold in puppet shows, pamphlets, plays and novels. In terms of witchcraft as heritage tourism, Pendle Hill has become the Salem of Britain. A century later, the last conviction for witchcraft in England took place in Hertfordshire.

The stand-out sorcery case of the pre-witch-trial era was that of Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester. In 1441 she stood accused of employing a magician named Roger Bolingbroke and a wise-woman named Margery Jourdemayne to kill Henry VI by sorcery.

They were found guilty, and to warn others against such practices, Robert was made to stand upon a stage constructed in the churchyard of old St Paul’s Cathedral while a sermon was preached against magic. His magical paraphernalia was also exhibited, including wax images, a sceptre and swords draped with magical copper talismans. He was convicted of high treason and hanged, drawn and quartered.

Do you know what it means to be hanged, drawn and quartered? Convicts were fastened to a hurdle, or wooden panel, and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where they were hanged (almost to the point of death), emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded and quartered (chopped into four pieces). Their remains were often displayed in prominent places across the country, such as London Bridge. For reasons of public decency, women convicted of high treason were instead burned at the stake.
Read more about being “hanged, drawn and quartered at -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanged,_drawn_and_quartered

See drawings and read the complete article on the 10 witch trials at -- http://www.historyextra.com/feature/witches-dock-witch-trials-10-britains-most-infamous

Keep in mind that this was a "Christian" nation and these acts were being done by "Christians" too. Obviously, what it means to be a Christian nation and to be a Christian has changed tremendously!

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Shalom,

Jim Myers

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