The Bewitching of Anne Gunter
The Bewitching of Anne Gunter. A horrible and true story of deception, witchcraft, murder and the King of England is a micro-historical work by historian James Sharpe , which was first published in 1999. Sharpe was at the professor at the University of York at the time ; meanwhile he has retired. The book is about Anne Gunter , the most widely documented witch trial in England in the 16th and 17th centuries. Sharpe tries to work out the complex causes and circumstances of witch hunts in England.
Cognitive interest
James Sharpe became aware of the case through Cecil L'Estrange Ewen's book Witchcraft in the Star Chamber and soon recognized the enormous wealth of historical sources on the process. With the help of these numerous documents, Sharpe tries to reconstruct the general developments in witch hunts in the 17th century. Thus, the aim of Sharpe is to study the effects of the English Civil War and the Reformation on the witch hunt. In particular, the execution of Charles I in 1645 and the associated change to an activist-popular Puritanism caused an enormous increase in the persecution of witches in the 17th century.
Sharpe's work consists of 9 chapters, which begin with Anne's illness and the effects of a soccer game and end with a court case and the politics of exorcism in England. His book is primarily based on court documents, with Sharpe not using footnotes but placing his sources and notes at the end of the book for those interested.
Synopsis
The young Anne Gunter lived in North Moreton , a few miles south of Oxford , as the daughter of Brian and Anne Gunter. In the summer of 1604 she suffered for the first time from an illness that many at the time would have called hysteria . It was only when the symptoms reappeared in October 1604, but this time a lot worse, that the suspicion arose that the symptoms might be of a supernatural nature. Many recognized doctors were certain that Anne's symptoms could not be traced back to a natural cause, but that Anne had symptoms of a bewitched person, or even a person who was possessed by demons. However, later there were some who doubted Anne's supernatural condition. They included both Thomas Hinton and the then King of England, James I. The king was then the one to uncover a story of fraud and torture, and it begins with a football game.
The Gunters were new to North Moreton, and although very wealthy, they were unpopular in the village. The first serious enmity, however, only arose when William and Richard Gregory were allegedly killed by Brian Gunter in a soccer game in May 1598 in the course of a dispute during said soccer game. This created a rift between the Gunters and the Gregorys that would play a major role in the case of Anne Gunter.
The second time Anne became ill, her symptoms were much worse than the first time. She writhed and contorted, became stiff, and had severe seizures. She handed over pins and could sense when certain people were nearby. In addition, she kept repeating three names while in a trance: Mary Pepwell, Agnes Pepwell, and Elizabeth Gregory. In the case of Agnes Pepwell, it is not surprising that she was mentioned in connection with Anne's illness. She had a reputation for being a witch for many years. This is why Agnes' daughter, Mary Pepwell, was also suspected. The suspicion of witchcraft was not so pronounced with Elizabeth Gregory, but Elizabeth was not really popular in the village. These three women were then charged with witchcraft by Brian Gunter on suspicion of hexing Anne.
At the time, many were interested in witchcraft and demons, which is why Anne's illness became a major attraction that not only drew people from North Moreton to her bed. People came from all over the region to see Anne's suffering. Some Oxford scholars who were good friends of Brian Gunter also found their way to North Moreton. After seeing Anne's symptoms, they were also convinced that she was bewitched.
But then Thomas Hinton appeared at Anne's bed. He was the only one who viewed Anne's disease and its symptoms with skepticism. He informed the Gunters of this, whereupon they suggested that he do some tests with Anne. After that, Hinton was only more convinced that Anne was just faking her illness, which is why he decided to publish this finding.
In the winter of 1604/1605 the trial of Agnes Pepwell, Mary Pepwell and Elizabeth Gregory began. Mary and Elizabeth were held in prison until the trial began. Since Agnes Pepwell already had a reputation as a witch, she disappeared before the arrest. The trial took place on March 1, 1605 in Abingdon-on-Thames . Here Thomas Hinton saw his chance to uncover Anne's deception. He explained his skepticism to the jury , whereupon the judge sent three people from the jury to Anne's home to question her. Anne could no longer sustain her suffering properly, so Gregory and Pepwell were acquitted.
After the Abingdon Trial, the King of England, James I, attended Oxford University . For reasons unknown, Brian Gunter took his daughter to Oxford that day, where she first met the King. But he too was skeptical of Anne's suffering, as he was generally an opponent of witchcraft. After Jacob I assured her that her confession would have no consequences, Anne confessed that, because of her father, she had only faked her illness.
The second trial followed in February 1606, this time against Anne's father, Brian Gunter. There were over 60 testimonies in total, many of which were in Brian's favor. The documents from this trial have long been lost, which is why it is not known how the judge ruled on Brian Gunter. Still, it's hard to imagine that after Anne's confession he was still considered innocent. All we know is that Anne was removed from her father's household and that the latter returned to North Moreton, where he was unable to lead a quiet life until his death in November 1628. Anne, on the other hand, fell in love, and although there are no documents of a wedding, it can be assumed that she got married.
In summary, the following points can be stated why Anne's story can be considered so significant: Anne's case reveals the complex opinions about witchcraft at that time. By the time Anne went to court to indict the three women, witch trials in England were already on the decline and the chances of winning such a trial were not particularly good. This is particularly evident from James I's skepticism towards Anne's symptoms and from the acquittal of Mary Pepwell and Elizabeth Gregory. But with the beginning of the English Civil War and the execution of Charles I, the number of witchcraft cases rose again, with over 100 witches being executed in 1645, for example. Thus the English Civil War weakened the secular government, which was responsible for the decrease of witch hunts, and created space for an activist-popular puritanism , which led to renewed witch hunts. So one could say that without the English Civil War the witch hunt would have died out much earlier and the last execution would probably not have been carried out until 1685.
Effect / reception
David Underdown praised James Sharpe for his work. He argued that his clear writing style and judicious weighing of possible interpretations would appeal to both students and specialists. In addition, Sharpe's descriptions of church courts and stately records open up the possibility of better understanding the process of micro-history. Still, Underdown criticizes Sharpe for his tendency to take judicial statements too literally without considering the bias of witnesses. All in all, David Underdown sees Sharpe's work as a model exercise in the micro-historical genre.
Anna Dogole also praised Sharpe's book. According to Dogole, Sharpe offers an excellent historical narrative that offers insights into everyday life and cognitions during the reign of King James I. Sharpe's book is well documented and contains extensive notes and references. In conclusion, Dogole praised the book as an exciting work that will be of interest to both historians and psychology students.
Alvin Kernan , emeritus of Princeton University , found it fascinating how skillfully Sharpe put Anne Gunter's story together from old files and reports. Kernan emphasized that this book embodied the micro-story very well, since one could empathize with the protagonists through Sharpe's narrative. But Kernan criticizes the fact that a micro-history always needs the macro-history in order to be able to place the micro-history correctly in time. That is why Kernan concluded at the end that local life never had the same significance as longue durée .
Jessica Mulley also studied Sharpe's work and praised his ability to link Anne's history and contemporary life. Through the fall of Anne and its consequences, he was able to show how high politics, theology and cultural development changed in the 17th century. Mulley also praised Sharpe's book as well-researched, well-written, and insightful.
Malcolm Gaskill also praised Sharpe's work. The ability to evaluate all raw data and put it together in a book reflects Sharpe's expertise in this area. Sharpe also strives for a readership that transcends academic boundaries, but never presupposes esoteric knowledge and always puts history first. Gaskill found this book, like all good micro-stories, educational and entertaining.
Antonia Fraser of The London Times wrote that Sharpe's work was extremely exciting and that it was how Sharpe gave Anne Gunter her long-earned moment of fame.
JW Dippman of Central Washington University found the book to be a good insight, but disappointing that the protagonist's outcome was not revealed.
expenditure
- English original edition: James Sharpe: The bewitching of Anne Gunter: a horrible and true story of deception, witchcraft, murder, and the King of England. Profile Books, London 1999, ISBN 186197048X .
- English reprint: James Sharpe: The bewitching of Anne Gunter: a horrible and true story of deception, witchcraft, murder, and the King of England. Routledge, New York 2001, ISBN 0-415-92691-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g James Sharpe: The Bewitching of Anne Gunter: A horrible and true story of deception, witchcraft, murder, and the King of England . Profile Books, 2000.
- ↑ David Underdown: Review of Sharpe, James, The Bewitching of Anne Gunter: A Horrible and True Story of Deception, Witchcraft, and the King of England . H-Albion, H-Net Reviews. May, 2001. URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=5110 (July 25, 2019).
- ^ History in Review: Anna Dogole
- ^ Alvin Kernan: Book Reviews: The Bewitching of Anne Gunter. Retrieved August 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Jessica Mulley: Review: The Bewitching of Anne Gunter by James Sharpe. Retrieved August 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Malcolm Gaskill: Book Review: The Bewitching of Anne Gunter. Retrieved August 8, 2019 .
- ↑ a b CRC Press Reviews