Summary Of The Witch Of Wapping By Joan Peterson

The Witch of Wapping was a notorious case in its time. Like many trials of witches of the 1600’s, this one is thought to be based on revenge and cynicism rather than on a firm belief that the accused was actually practicing some form of witchcraft. Joan Peterson lived in East London and was tried and convicted of witchcraft in 1652, she was sentenced to be hanged in Tyburn that same year. Though it seems like a cut and dry case, suspicion looms around the details and the motives the accusers had when seeing to her imprisonment and eventual death. The author of this document was anonymous but the pamphlet was written shortly after Peterson had already been convicted. In the pamphlet, the author initially seeks to ensure people that witches are indeed real and causing havoc. He refers to the

The author also casts doubt on the belief that here can be a good witch “the Vulgar people distinguish by the names of the Good Witch, (I wonder how that can be,) and the Bad” this was a common idea during the time, the idea that all magic was bad magic had not always been the norm but it seems in 17th century England that was the idea. This pamphlet seems to have one goal, to reinforce the idea that Peterson was a witch. It seems that there were suspicions as to whether the accusers were being truthful as R.T Davies points out in his work Four Centuries of Witch Beliefs some disinherited relatives of Lady Mary Powell wanted revenge on someone who was not left out of her will and sought Joan Peterson to corroborate the story that Anne Levingston had murdered Lady Mary Powell. Peterson refused and the women “decided that she must either be put to death or else terrified into helping them, as she already knew too much of their scheme”. The author may be ignorant of these actions and this pamphlet could likely just be done to preserve as record, he records several testimonials from witnesses who saw Peterson’s witchcraft including her son. Who