A Jacobean Conspiracy?
Dr Tracy Borman speaking on Witches at Christ Church New Malden
Evil is a far from popular subject today. Even the fun that we seek to have with it once a year at Halloween points to its general dismissal as a superstitious and old fashioned concept that modern societies have now, thankfully, moved beyond. Until, that is, events occur like the Soham murders or 9/11 when the vocabulary of evil is suddenly and dramatically reintroduced (not least by the tabloids) to respond to what has happened. Most of the time, however, evil is a concept we prefer not to think about.
Four hundred years ago, the opposite was true in this country with the existence of a deeply unhealthy obsession with evil. James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603 and one of the things that he brought with him was a dangerous preoccupation with witchcraft. The king wrote his own tract on the subject – Daemonologie – and under his encouragement scores of ‘witches’ were accused, arrested and executed in the years that followed. Most of these people were single women guilty of little more than having made enemies in their local communities and arousing suspicion and hatred. One of the most infamous cases during the reign of James I was that of the ‘Belvoir Witches’ when Joan, Margaret and Philippa Flower of Bottesford in Leicestershire were accused of using witchcraft to harm the infant sons of the influential Earl of Rutland, Francis Manners and his wife Cecilia. Whilst Joan died following her arrest, her unfortunate daughters were tried and eventually hanged for their ‘crimes’ in Lincoln in 1619.
Native of Lincoln but now resident in New Malden and a 
member of Christ Church, Dr Tracy Borman recently published a book on the subject. ‘Witches: A Tale of Sorcery, Scandal and Seduction’ uses the Belvoir case as a window through which to examine the whole phenomenon of ‘witchcraft’ during the seventeenth century. Following the success of her previous books on Henrietta Howard (the mistress of George II), Elizabeth I and Matilda (the wife of William the Conqueror), ‘Witches’ is beautifully written, marked by meticulous research and is already being widely acclaimed. Disturbing and fascinating, perhaps the most startling aspect of the book is Tracy’s uncovering of a previously undetected conspiracy that may well explain what was really going in the case of the ‘Witches of Belvoir’.
On Thursday 28th November 2013 at 8.00 pm Tracy will be speaking on her book at Christ Church, New Malden. Admission will be free and wine and canapés served. There will, however, be a retiring collection after her talk with all of the proceeds going towards the campaign to stop human trafficking. As big a scandal as the horrific treatment of supposed witches during the seventeenth century and startlingly similar in the vulnerability of its victims, modern day slavery is growing and something that Christ Church and New Malden Baptist Church have recently decided to combine in campaigning against. Views may have changed upon evil since the seventeenth century and there will continue to be disagreements about its nature. But the evil of human trafficking is something that all of us can surely acknowledge and seek to eradicate. So do come on 28th November to hear a fascinating talk by Tracy Borman and contribute to this vital cause.
Stephen Kuhrt is Vicar of Christ Church, New Malden