Happy Christmas!

 

On this day in Tudor history, 25th December 1587, Brian Darcy, magistrate, Sheriff of Essex, witch-hunter and contributor to the 1582 “A true and just recorde of the information, examination and confession of all the witches, taken at S Oses [St Osyth]”, died. 

 

“A True and Just Recorde” argued for harsher punishments for those found guilty of witchcraft, and Darcy was personally responsible for a number of deaths of people accused of witchcraft.

 

Find out more about this zealous witch-hunter in today's talk from historian Claire Ridgway. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:

https://youtu.be/E7fbjYHVeGU

 

The pamphlet containing his interrogations can be read at https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A14611.0001.001?view=toc

 

Last year, I talked about Lettice Devereux, wife of favourite Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and mother of favourite Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, AND I also talked about how Tudor people celebrated Christmas - https://youtu.be/G-7arUBvGe8