Matthew Hopkins (abt. 1620 - 1647)

Born about 1620 in Great Wenham, Suffolk, England

Ancestors

Died 12 Aug 1647 at about age 27 in Manningtree, Essex, England

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Biography

Matthew Hopkins was a witchcraft accuser in England

Matthew Hopkins is Notable.

Matthew Hopkins' claim to fame is as the WITCHFINDER GENERAL in mid-17th Century England against the backdrop of the English Civil war. It is believed that he and his associates sent around 300 women to the gallows as witches in East Anglia during three years of activity, 60% of all convicted witches executed in England between the early 15th and late 18th centuries. He claimed to have the authority of Parliament to conduct such investigations and trials, though no such Office was devised by the English Parliament.

"Matthew Hopkins is perhaps the most notorious name in the history of English witchcraft, more commonly he was known as 'The Witch-Finder General'. Throughout his reign of terror 1645-1646, Hopkins acquired a feared and evil reputation as a ‘fingerman’ (informer), paid by local authorities to commit perjury. Together with his henchman and fellow ‘Witch-Pricker’ John Sterne, in just 14 months, Hopkins was responsible for the condemnations and executions of some 230 alleged witches, more than all the other witch-hunters that proliferated during the 160-year peak of the country’s witchcraft hysteria. ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ "'MATTHEW HOPKINS WITCH-FINDER GENERAL', written and compiled by George Knowles.

• Wikipedia: Matthew Hopkins

• "'The Discovery of Witches', by Matthew Hopkins; 1647."

• "'The Discovery of Witches and Witchcraft: The Writings of the Witchfinders', by John Stearne; Scolar Press Limited; England; 1645." reprint

• Wikipedia: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

• image Scanned from reprint of 1841/1852 editions of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackay, LL. D. ISBN 1-5866-3558-1: 'Matthew Hopkins, Witch Finder General. From a broadside published by Hopkins before 1650.'"

• "Chesterfield Pagans: 'Matthew Hopkins – Witchfinder General'"

• "'Ipswich Star: 'Essex: Beth Underdown’s new book on Manningtree’s Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins'; March 5, 2017."

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Hopkins, Matthew (d. 1647)