Famous Witches

Everyone remembers stories of the Salem Witch Trials from their high school or even grade school lessons of U.S history, a frightening and depressing time for the nonconformist, ending with hangings, burnings at the stake, and death by being crushed under the agonizing weight of heavy stones or logs as they were added one by one. The witch craze in the U.S was brief, it was much worse in Europe, and by the time it reached U.S shores, the European witch craze was well over, having left at least one German town with only one woman left in its population. But not all accused witches ended up burned – those with particular political importance often manuevered their way out of being tied to the stake.

Joan of Navarre was born in 1370 and lived until 1437. As Duchess of Brittany and wife of King Henry IV of England, she was an important figure, indeed. She was accused of being a witch and wanting to bring down the king – the second part of the charge was likely the more dangerous of the two, and probably the impetous for the accusation. One of the lucky ones, she was pardoned and reinstated.

One that may sound somewhat familiar is a 15th century Yorkshire witch called Mother Shipton, the dates of her birth and death 1488-1561. It is said that she predicted the invention of planes and cars, even modern day wars and political intrigues. The first publication of her prophecies was not in print until 1641.

Plenty other famous queens have been accused to be witches, Anne Boleyn had a sixth finger and could not bear children which caused her to be accused. King George IV’s wife Caroline of Brunswick was accused of being a witch because he suffered from a chronic pain condition. She famously accused him of neglecting her and he assumed that in revenge she had made a wax doll of him in order to inflict pain.

Any misfortune or perceived threat to royalty was a good way of becoming accused as a witch. In Scotland in the 16th century, a whole town was accused of witch craft and condemned to burn after a storm swallowed up a ship called the King James I. THey were known as the North Berwick witches.

Marie Leveau is perhaps one of my favorite stories about famous witches. She was actually two people of the same name, a mother and a daughter. Both were highly attractive. No harm ever came to either of her for her practice, though she is considered the Voodoo Queen of North America. She was reportedly able, through spells, to control the actions of lovers and enemies and was often at the center of sexual intrigues.