when did matthew hopkins die

What did Matthew Hopkins die of?

TuberculosisMatthew Hopkins / Cause of deathIt has long been propounded that Hopkins was himself accused of being a witch, subjected to his own test of being bound and thrown into water and hanged after he was found to float. In fact, Hopkins died after an illness, likely tuberculosis.

Where did Matthew Hopkins die?

Manningtree, United KingdomMatthew Hopkins / Place of deathDeath and legacy Matthew Hopkins died at his home in Manningtree, Essex, on 12 August 1647, probably of pleural tuberculosis. He was buried a few hours after his death in the graveyard of the Church of St Mary at Mistley Heath.

When was Matthew Hopkins born?

around 1620Matthew Hopkins was born around 1620 in a relatively small village in Suffolk, where his family owned land. Little is known about his upbringing or his aspirations – although he might have been a lawyer and even spent time in the Netherlands.

How many people did Matthew Hopkins accuse?

Hopkins conducted a physical investigation of the women, looking for deformities and a blemish called the “Devil's Mark” which would lead to 23 women (sources differ in the number) being accused of witchcraft and were tried in 1645.

Who was the most famous witch hunter?

In the world of witch-hunters, Matthew Hopkins was the big, bad dog. As many as 200 cases of witchcraft are credited to Hopkins or his followers. Although notorious in his time, little is known of Hopkins before he became witch finder general, a title that he gave himself.

How many witches were killed?

Witch hunts The number of trials and executions varied according to time and place, but it is generally believed that some 110,000 persons in total were tried for witchcraft and between 40,000 to 60,000 were executed.

What did Matthew Hopkins wear?

Hopkins is wearing a short tabbed doublet which would have been pretty low fashion by 1647. He did live in a backwater of the country though. I know, I live there today!

Where in Manningtree did Matthew Hopkins live?

Grace has researched Matthew Hopkins, thought to have lived at the Thorn Inn in Mistley and a house that once stood next to the Red Lion Pub. She added: "There's also hearsay that he used the lake near the Mistley Farm Park for “swimming” the women i.e. dunking them in water to see who drowned and who survived.

What are Essex witches?

The Essex witches were originally pagans who went back hundreds, possibly thousands of years in their beliefs ended up being murdered in Europe during the brutal witch-hunts, particularly in Britain. They made a pact with the Devil in exchange for more power to fight against the same enemies.

How many witches were killed in East Anglia?

The witch-hunt in East Anglia was part of a wider phenomenon in which approximately 110,000 people, the majority women, were prosecuted for the crime of witchcraft across Europe between 1450 and 1750, and in which up to 60,000 people were executed.

How many witch finders were there?

There may have been as many as 150 accused of witchcraft and a barn had to be used to hold them all. Both Hopkins and Stearne testified at several of the trials, but any witchfinder using the 'swimming test' was severely rebuked by Godbold.

How old was Matthew Hopkins when he died?

Thus Matthew Hopkins could not have been born before 1619, and could not have been older than 28 when he died, but he may have been as young as 25. Although James Hopkins had died in 1634, when the iconoclast William Dowsing, commissioned in 1643 by the Parliamentarian Earl of Manchester "for the destruction of monuments of idolatry and superstition", visited the parish in 1645 he noted that "there was nothing to reform". Hopkins' brother John became Minister of South Fambridge in 1645 but was removed from the post one year later for neglecting his work. Hopkins states in his book The Discovery of Witches (1647) that he "never travelled far ... to gain his experience".

Where was Matthew Hopkins born?

Little is known of Matthew Hopkins before 1644, and there are no surviving contemporary documents concerning him or his family. He was born in Great Wenham, Suffolk and was the fourth son of six children. His father, James Hopkins, was a Puritan clergyman and vicar of St John's of Great Wenham, in Suffolk.

Who was James Hopkins' father?

His father, James Hopkins, was a Puritan clergyman and vicar of St John's of Great Wenham, in Suffolk. The family at one point held title "to lands and tenements in Framlingham 'at the castle ' ". His father was popular with his parishioners, one of whom in 1619 left money to purchase Bibles for his then three children James, John and Thomas.

What was Hopkins asked about in Norfolk?

Hopkins was asked if methods of investigation did not make the finders themselves witches, and if with all his knowledge did he not also have a secret, or had used "unlawful courses of torture". By the time this court session resumed in 1647 Stearne and Hopkins had retired, Hopkins to Manningtree and Stearne to Bury St Edmunds.

Where was Matthew Hopkins born?

When Matthew Hopkins was born in Wenham, Suffolk, probably in 1620, it was into a world that was alive with superstition in a way we simply can’t conceive of. A king was on the throne – King James I – who didn’t just believe in witches, but had literally written the book on them, Demonology.

When did Matthew Hopkins start witch hunting?

In his 1647 book, The Discovery of Witches, Matthew Hopkins would claim his witch hunting career began in 1644. However, all evidence suggests it was here, with Elizabeth Clarke in March 1645, that he really got into witch finding.

How did Stearne and Hopkins get talking?

How exactly they got talking is unknown, but it soon transpired Stearne shared Hopkins’ sharply defined view of good and evil. Together, they agreed to make Clarke confess her sins.

How many women did Matthew Hopkins send to the Gallows?

In the same space of time that he killed around 20 men, Hopkins sent an estimated 200 women to the gallows. In September of 1645, the Witchfinder General committed his most notorious act.

When was John Lowes convicted?

Back in August, 1645 , Hopkins’ conviction of John Lowes – that old guy he forced to run up and down until he collapsed – had resulted in a witch panic in Bury St. Edmunds that eventually saw 100 people jailed.

Did Hopkins and Stearne enter a victim's home without an invite?

Yep, inviting. Like a pair of misogynistic vampires, Hopkins and Stearne never entered a victim’s home without an invite. In normal times, this would have ensured their crackpot adventure ended as soon as it began.

Did Hopkins and Stearne torture the poor old woman?

Hopkins would later claim they witnessed Clarke call her familiars – imps in animal form – to the inn, including a demonic bunny rabbit named Sugar and, no, we’re not making that up. More probably, Hopkins and Stearne tortured the poor old woman. Either way, the result was the same. Clarke confessed to being a witch. And she started naming other “witches”.

Overview

Death and legacy

Matthew Hopkins died at his home in Manningtree, Essex, on 12 August 1647, probably of pleural tuberculosis. He was buried a few hours after his death in the graveyard of the Church of St Mary at Mistley Heath. In the words of historian Malcolm Gaskill, Matthew Hopkins "lives on as an anti-hero and bogeyman – utterly ethereal, endlessly malleable". According to historian Rossell Hope Robbins, Hopkins "acquired an evil reputation which in later days made his name synonymous …

Early life

Witch-hunting

Further reading

External links