Petronilla de Meath

Petronilla de Meath (* around 1300 in Ireland ; † November 3, 1324 in Kilkenny ) was an Irish maid who was the first woman in Ireland to be burned as a witch.

Life

It is not known when Petronilla was born, and no surname has survived. The name de Meath stands for from Meath , which just means that it comes from County Meath . She was working as a maid for Lady Alice Kyteler when she was accused of being a witch after the death of her fourth husband. Petronilla was also accused of witchcraft, tortured and forced to proclaim that she and Kyteler were guilty of witchcraft. With Kyteler and Petronilla ten other people were accused of witchcraft. Among these were Petronilla's daughter Sarah, sometimes called Basilia, and Alice Kyteler's son, William Outlaw. The charges brought against Lady Kyteler by Bishop Richard de Ledrede of Ossory encompassed a wide variety of crimes. These included sorcery and demonism, but also the murder of several of Lady Alice's husbands. Lady Alice's stepchildren from the first marriages of the deceased also joined this accusation. It was believed that Lady Alice magically and diabolically acquired her wealth illegally. Under the torture, Petronilla stated that she and her lover applied a magical ointment to a wooden beam that allowed both women to fly. She was then forced to publicly declare that Lady Alice and her followers were guilty of witchcraft. Lady Alice was able to flee to England in time, Petronilla's daughter Sarah took her with her. Some of the co-defendants were convicted and flogged, but others, including Petronilla, were burned alive at the stake. Petronilla died after torture at the stake on November 3, 1324.

accusation

Seven charges were brought against Lady Alice and her co-defendants through Bishop Richard de Ledrede:

“... that they were denying Christ and the church; that they cut up living animals and scattered the pieces at cross roads as offerings to a demain called the son of Art in return for his help; that they stole the keys of the church and held meetings there at night; that in the skull of a robber they placed the intestines and internal organs of cocks, worms, nails cut from dead bodies, hairs from the buttocks and clothes of boys who died before being bapitzed; that, from this brew they made potions to incite people to love, hate, kill and afflict Christians; that Alice herself had a certain demon as incubus by whom she permitted herself to be known carnally and that he appeared to her either as a cat, a shaggy black dog or as a black man aethiopos , from whom she received her wealth; and that Alice had used her sorcery to murder some of her husbands and to infatuate others, with the result that they gave all of their possessions to her and her son. "

“... that they have denied Christ and the Church; that they dismembered live animals and scattered the pieces at the crossroads, as offerings to a man called as a son of art for his help; that they stole the keys of the church and held meetings there at night; in the skull of a robber they placed the intestines and internal organs of roosters, worms, nails cut from corpses, hair from the buttocks, and clothes of boys who died before they were baptized; that they made potions from this brew to induce people to love, hate, kill, and torment Christians; that Alice herself had a certain demon as an incubus, from whom she allowed herself to be carnal known, and that he appeared to her either as a cat, a shaggy black dog, or a black aethiopos , from whom she received her wealth; and that Alice had used her sorcery to murder some of her husbands and beguile others, with the result that they gave all of their possessions to her and her son. "

The charges ranged from the commission of sorcery and demonism, to the murder of several husbands in order to have illegally acquired their wealth through sorcery. These allegations came primarily from the children of their late husbands through their previous marriages. While Lady Alice fled to England to avoid trial, the other defendants were not so happy, particularly Petronilla. Ledrede ordered the torture of Petronilla and the other less wealthy allies imprisoned in Kilkenny. They confessed to the charges against themselves.

“... Amongst other things she said that she with her said mistress often made a sentence of excommunication against her own husband with wax candles lighted and repeated expectoration, as their rules required. And though she was indeed herself an adept in this accursed art of theirs, she said she was nothing in comparison with her mistress, from whom she had learned all these things and many more; and indeed in all the realm of the King of England there was none more skilled or equal to her in this art ... "

“... among other things, she said that she and her lover often made excommunications against her own husband with wax candles and repeated expulsion, as her rules required. And although she was an adept herself in this accursed art, she said she was nothing compared to her lover, from whom she had learned all these things and much more, and in the whole world of the King of England there was no one who would be better or equivalent in this art ... "

Honors

Petronilla de Meath was one of 39 place settings in the installation The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago dedicated.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} A Brief History of Witchcraft . Little, Brown Book Group, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84901-804-3 ( books.google.de ).
2. ^ ^{A b} Brooklyn Museum: Petronilla de Meath. In: brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved November 12, 2017 . 
3. ^ Williams, Bernadette, 'The Sorcery Trial of Alice Kyteler,' History Ireland Vol. 2, No. 4 (Winter, 1994), pp. 21-22.
4. ^ William Renwick Riddell: The First Execution for Witchcraft in Ireland in Journal of American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, Issue 7 No. 6 (March 1917), p. 836, translating Richard Ledrede, A Contemporary Narrative of the Proceedings Against Dame Alice Kyteler: Prosecuted for Sorcery in 1324.