Witchcraft and Scepticism in England: A Comparison of Key Texts by Reginald Scot, John Webster and Francis Hutchinson

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to examine the writing on witchcraft of three important authors from the Early Modern period: Reginald Scot, John Webster and Francis Hutchinson, who all wrote about witchcraft in different centuries ie from the late 16th century to the early 18th-century. By examining their views and ideas on key common themes such as the role of the law, the use of the Bible as evidence and the powers that witches were said to have, it can be seen that these three writers expressed scepticism about the widespread belief in witchcraft in highly specific areas. Through a detailed examination of their works on witchcraft and the influence of those works, it will be evident that these writers developed a coherent trajectory of scepticism, which combined with other features of the period to steer the governing authorities towards abandoning their previous policies towards witchcraft and witches. The works of these three writers are indicators of the changing thinking of the elites about witchcraft, especially the judiciary and the church, in the period under consideration.

Date of Award	2021
Original language	English