Vwegba Blogging World

The shocking tale of the first Bedfordshire 'witches' sentenced to death Even though the so-called "swimming a witch" test was largely banned in Europe throughout the Middle Ages, it came back with a fury during the anti-witch hysteria of the 17th and 18th centuries. The test hinged on the idea that water was a sacred element and would reject evil — so if an accused witch floated to the surface when tossed into the water, then they must be guilty of witchcraft. In 1613, Mary Sutton and her mother of Bedfordshire, England were accused by their neighbors of 20 years of being witches. So they were bound and tossed into the mill dam, only to float to the surface. The town then re-tied them toe to thumb and dunked them again — only to watch them float back up. Both women were sentenced to death by hanging. A mother and datighter team of witches, Mother Sutton and Mary Sutton of Milton Milles in the county of Bedford, were the subject of an anonymous witchcraft pamphlet of ...