{"product_id":"digital-product-7","title":"A Treatise of Witchcraft (c. 1616) - Alexander Roberts","description":"\u003ch2\u003eA Treatise of Witchcraft (1616)\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlexander Roberts\u003c\/strong\u003e · First published in London, 1616\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA remarkable surviving account of an English witchcraft prosecution, written by a clergyman who believed the accused woman had made a pact with the Devil.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePublished in the reign of James I, \u003cem\u003eA Treatise of Witchcraft\u003c\/em\u003e combines a detailed account of the accusation, confession and execution of \u003cstrong\u003eMary Smith of King's Lynn, Norfolk\u003c\/strong\u003e with a forceful defence of contemporary beliefs about witchcraft. Roberts, a preacher in King's Lynn, presents the case as evidence of diabolical activity, offering a revealing window into the fears, religious convictions and legal attitudes of early seventeenth-century England.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWithin this extraordinary volume\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe case of Mary Smith:\u003c\/strong\u003e Roberts's account of a local woman accused of harming neighbours through witchcraft, including allegations of envy, curses and a spoken pact with the Devil.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA confession and execution:\u003c\/strong\u003e the author's description of Smith's examination, religious instruction and execution in January 1616.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWhat counted as evidence:\u003c\/strong\u003e witness testimony, alleged confessions and the arguments used to justify the punishment of accused witches.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWitchcraft and scepticism:\u003c\/strong\u003e a striking discussion of those who argued that supposed witches might instead be elderly or distressed women misled by imagination — an opinion Roberts rejects.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHerbs, ointments and magical substances:\u003c\/strong\u003e contemporary allegations that witches used powders, ointments and herbs to bring about supernatural effects.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWitches, cunning folk and diviners:\u003c\/strong\u003e the distinctions and overlapping labels applied to necromancers, enchanters, fortune-tellers and other suspected practitioners.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eClassical and biblical sources:\u003c\/strong\u003e references to Circe, Medea, Zoroaster, Scripture and earlier demonological authorities.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeyond the trial itself, the treatise is a powerful primary source for understanding how witchcraft accusations were constructed and defended in the decades before the English Civil War. Its passages on doubt, testimony and punishment make especially compelling reading today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout this edition:\u003c\/strong\u003e A 101-page digital facsimile of a historical copy, preserving images of the binding, early ownership marks, the original title page and the seventeenth-century printed text. The original work comprises eight preliminary pages and 80 numbered pages; the larger PDF page count reflects the archival scan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHistorical context:\u003c\/strong\u003e Roberts writes from an explicitly pro-prosecution, demonological perspective. His descriptions of alleged witchcraft and supernatural events are accusations and historical beliefs, not independently established facts. The text includes arguments supporting the execution of accused witches and should be approached critically as a document of its time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Ancestral Library | Hearthwise Herbals\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eDigital historical facsimile · Originally published 1616 · Early Modern English · 101 PDF pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hearthwise Herbals","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64204657623370,"sku":null,"price":4.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1088\/9940\/2058\/files\/Screenshot2026-11-03083658.png?v=1793695289","url":"https:\/\/hearthwiseherbals.com\/products\/digital-product-7","provider":"Hearthwise Herbals","version":"1.0","type":"link"}