Why so few witches were executed in Wales in the middle ages
Retrieved on:
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
While there were an estimated 500 executions in England, and between 3,000 and 4,000 killings in Scotland, only five people were hanged for witchcraft in Wales.
Key Points:
- While there were an estimated 500 executions in England, and between 3,000 and 4,000 killings in Scotland, only five people were hanged for witchcraft in Wales.
- Early modern Wales was unique in its outlook on witchcraft.
- Distinct elements of Welsh culture, including superstition and religion, halted the witch trials seen across the rest of Britain and Europe.
Accusations of witchcraft
- We know from those trial records that suspicions and verbal accusations of witchcraft like those seen across the rest of Britain and Europe were common in Wales.
- They also happened under similar circumstances where accusations often followed an argument, or a request for charity which was denied.
- Their accusers were neighbours, relatives and in many cases, people with financial and personal reasons to make accusations.
- This left juries in early modern Wales in serious doubt about how sensible witch accusations were.
Religion
- The people of Wales were not without religion, but they preferred prayer to doctrine.
- Generally, Welsh people could not read or understand the Bible, which was not fully translated into Welsh until the late 1500s.
- There is evidence that many people continued to seek the aid of charmers instead of the church.
- This sort of formal cursing was often phrased as a petitionary prayer to God, emphasising the overlap between witchcraft and religion in Wales.
Mari Ellis Dunning does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.