Being Bewitched A True Tale of Madness, Witchcraft, and Property Development Gone Wrong / Kirsten C. Uszkalo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Uszkalo, Kirsten C., Author.

Series:

Early modern studies series ; 20.

Early modern studies ; 20

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jennings, Elizabeth, active 1622.

Jennings, Elizabeth.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (256 pages).

Place of Publication:

Kirksville, Missouri : Truman State University Press, [2017]

Summary:

In 1622, thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Jennings fell strangely ill. After doctors’ treatments proved useless, her family began to suspect the child had been bewitched, a suspicion that was confirmed when Elizabeth accused their neighbor Margaret Russell of witchcraft. In the events that followed, witchcraft hysteria intertwines with family rivalries, property disputes, and a web of supernatural beliefs. Starting from a manuscript account of the bewitchment, Kirsten Uszkalo sets the story of Elizabeth Jennings against both the specific circumstances of the powerful Jennings family and the broader history of witchcraft in early modern England. Fitting together the intricate pieces of this complex puzzle, Uszkalo reveals a story that encompasses the iron grip of superstition, the struggle among professionalizing medical specialties, and London’s lawless and unstoppable sprawl. In the picture that emerges, we see the young Elizabeth, pinned like a live butterfly at the dark center of a web of greed and corruption, sickness and lunacy.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Principal Dramatis Personæ

Genealogical Charts

Maps

Chronology

Introduction: “My mother sawe her in the kitchin”

Chapter 1: The Background: Landed Power, Lunacy, and Libraries

Chapter 2: Blood Evidence: Sickness in the Blood

Chapter 3: Comparables: Familial Witchcraft

Chapter 4: Models and Accusations for Being Bewitched

Chapter 5: Tensions: Prohibitions and Projects

Chapter 6: Tensions: Magics and Medicines

Chapter 7: The New Suspect: The Apothecary

Chapter 8: Witnesses and Persons of Interest, Bedside & Barside

Chapter 9: Wrap Up: The Final Expert Assessment

Chapter 10: Post-Bewitchment: Elizabeth Jenyns of St. Mary le Savoy

Conclusion: “They had power over all them”

Appendix 1: “Of Elizabeth Jennings being bewitched,” 1622

Appendix 2: Indictments, 27 October 1616 and 3 December 1616

Appendix 3: Napier on Elizabeth Jennings, 1622

Appendix 4: Napier on Bulbeck, Arpe, and Latch, 1623

Appendix 5: John Latch’s Signature, 1620, 1622

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-61248-166-3

OCLC:

970396754