The Bewitching of Anne Gunter: A Horrible and True Story of Deception, Witchcraft, Murder, and the King of EnglandIn 1604, 20-year-old Anne Gunter was bewitched: she foamed at the mouth, contorted wildly in her bedchamber, went into trances. Her garters and bodices were perpetually unlacing themselves. Her signature symptom was to vomit pins and "she voided some pins downwards as well by her water or otherwise.." Popular history at its best, "The Bewitching of Anne Gunter" opens a fascinating window onto the past. It's a tale of controlling fathers, willful daughters, nosy neighbors, power relations between peasants and gentry, and village life in early-modern Europe. Above all it's an original and revealing story of one young woman's experience with the greatly misunderstood phenomenon of witchcraft. James Sharpe is Professor of History at York University and the author of "Instruments of Darkness: Witchcraft in" "Early Modern History" and other works of social history. |
Contents
ANNES STORY | 1 |
SOME UNEXPECTED C O N S E QU E N C E S of a FOOTBALL MATCH | 14 |
MANY STRANGE TORTURES | 43 |
WITCHCRAFT | 64 |
The OXFORD CONNECTION | 90 |
The WITCHTRIAL at ABINGDON | 115 |
Other editions - View all
The Bewitching of Anne Gunter: A Horrible and True Story of Deception ... J. A. Sharpe Limited preview - 2000 |
The Bewitching of Anne Gunter: A Horrible and True Story of Deception ... James Sharpe Limited preview - 2012 |
The Bewitching of Anne Gunter: A Horrible and True Story of Deception ... J. A. Sharpe No preview available - 2000 |