Matthew Hopkins 

Matthew Hopkins was born in Wenham, Suffolk, in 1620. Back then, the English society was filled with superstitions about demons and witches. Even King James I of England published a book entitled ''Daemonologie'' about necromancy. 

James I of England (1603-1625)

Title page of Daemonologie

Meanwhile, a new religious movement started to gain influence among the English people: the Puritans. Their main goal was clearing the Church of England of all Catholic practices. Matthew was a Puritan as well. Little is known about his early life. It is said that he studied in Netherlands and his father was a Puritan minister. At same point, his father passed away and he moved to Manningtree, Essex, 10 miles from Wenham, in 1640. 

A portrait of Matthew Hopkins

In 1640, Sir Harbottle Grimston's livestock had begun to be plagued. In 1642, civil war broke out between King Charles I and Parliament. East Anglia, where Hopkins resided, was staunchly Puritan and pro-Parliament. As a result, the population turned to superstition in order to explain things and they concluded that it had to be the work of a witch. In 1645, they found the culprit. It was Elizabeth Clarke, an old widow living on Grimston's estate. She was accused of sorcery and put on trial. 

Sir Harbottle Grimston

Witch trials in England were not something common. During the Middle Ages, witches were seen as the healers of the community. However, in 1563, any kind of sorcery and witchcraft were banned. The first witch trial took place in 1566 and all 3 people were found guilty and sentenced to 1 year in prison. However, everything changed with ascension of James I who was against witchcraft. In 1604, Parliament passed the Witchcraft Statute, which made any act of using sorcery a capital offence. By 1645, tens of people were sentenced to death, the vast majority of them being women. However, witch trials in England had less deaths than on Continental Europe.

Execution of witchcraft by burning

Back to Matthews, he began his carrer as witchfinder in 1645, although he had no experience. He met a man named John Stearne and together they decided to make Elizabeth Clarke confess for her sins. Torture was illegal in England, so it was not a viable option. To elicit a confession a witch would be monitored by Watchers to see if they summon any familiars.

A late-16-century illustration of a witch feeding her familiars; familiars were supernatural entities that would protect and assist witches

Despite having no legal authority, Hopkins and Stearne took Elizabeth into their custody and moved her to their own place for interrogation. What happened here is unknown, but they probably used torture to make her confess. She confessed that she was a witch, and named all the familiars she summoned, among them being a demonic rabbit named Sugar. In the end, she was hanged. Over the next weeks, Hopkins and Stearne found other witches who were sentenced to death. 

Their modus operandi was quite simple. After they found a witch they would deprive her of sleep and food for couple of days and locked in isolation. Bear in mind, that East Anglia was ravaged by the English Civil War and the majority of the villages were utterly destroyed and the population was impoverished. Overall, hundreds of people were hanged by Hopkins and Stearne. 

The Discovery of Witches (1647) by Matthew Hopkins

It is also worth mentioning that for their work, both earned around £1000. It may not sound too much but a laborer was paid £0.06 per day. However, Hopkins and Stearne drew a lot of criticism for their methods with many Puritans accusing them of being 2 charlatans who just sent innocent people, especially women, to death for money. In 1646, the First English Civil War was over and local authorities started to question the Witchfinders for their fees and torturing methods. Eventually, Matthew Hopkins retired. He died in 1647 leaving behind a poisonous legacy.