History

Discovery of Witches. The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster (Summarized Edition)

Enriched edition. Pendle Witch Trials and Court Records in Early Modern EnglandBy Thomas active 1612-1618 Potts

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Length3h 39m

About this audiobook

Thomas Potts's Discovery of Witches is the official narrative of the 1612 Lancaster Assizes, especially the Pendle and Samlesbury cases. Styled as a faithful record, it arranges examinations, confessions, and courtroom exchanges in a brisk chronicle that splices legal formulae with vivid set pieces. Situated in early Stuart print culture and the James I regime of the 1604 Witchcraft Act and Daemonologie, it profiles Alizon and Jennet Device, Demdike, Chattox, and others through prosecutorial rhetoric. Active 1612–1618, Potts served as clerk to the Lancaster circuit and wrote at the behest, and under the correction, of judges Sir James Altham and Sir Edward Bromley. Legal training and dependence on patronage shaped his evidentiary posture: orderly calendaring of depositions, confident glosses on testimony, and didactic asides that vindicate procedure. The book advances his professional aims while advertising judicial efficiency in a county of confessional tension and rumor. Read it as both documentation and advocacy: a primary source that stages confession, child witness, and state authority in print. Students and researchers will find an indispensable, unsettling guide to how early modern England narrated witchcraft as juridical truth. Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable—distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.

Witch Fiction Crime Supernatural Mystery Folklore Political Intrigue Royalty & Courts Family Betrayal