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1 - St Osyth

Grace, Ursley, Annis and Ales

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2022

Marion Gibson
Marion Gibson
Affiliation:
University of Exeter
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Summary

This chapter examines the origin of the St Osyth witchcraft accusations in the strained relationship between Grace Thurlowe, a servant at St Osyth Priory, and the cunning woman Ursley Kempe. It reconstructs the network of magical healers in the locality, suggesting that competition and sensitivities around child-rearing and illegitimacy were important in sparking suspicion, as well as several recent deaths of key players in the village.

Keywords

OsythwitchcraftwitchescunningmagichealingcharmKempewomenillegitimacy,
Type
Chapter
Information
The Witches of St Osyth , pp. 10 - 50
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • St Osyth
  • Marion Gibson, University of Exeter
  • Book: The Witches of St Osyth
  • Online publication: 02 December 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108859608.003
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • St Osyth
  • Marion Gibson, University of Exeter
  • Book: The Witches of St Osyth
  • Online publication: 02 December 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108859608.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • St Osyth
  • Marion Gibson, University of Exeter
  • Book: The Witches of St Osyth
  • Online publication: 02 December 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108859608.003
Available formats
×