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''John Stearne'' (c. 1610–1670)〔()〕 was an associate of the Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins, a witch-hunter active during the English Civil War.〔A detailed account of the duo's activities can be found in Malcolm Gaskill's ''Witchfinders: A Seventeenth Century English Tragedy'' (Harvard, 2005). The duo's activities were portrayed unreliably, but entertainingly, in the 1968 cult classic ''Witchfinder-General'' (US: ''Conqueror Worm'').〕 Stearne was known at various times as the witch–hunter,〔Notestein 1911: p166〕 and "witch pricker".〔Notestein 1911: p248〕 A family man and land owner from Lawshall near Bury St Edmunds,〔Gaskill 2005: p13〕 Stearne was 10 years older than Hopkins. He met Hopkins in Manningtree and appointed him as his assistant. As a result of Stearne's accusations, a trial was held in Chelmsford in July 1645 for 29 people accused of witchcraft and sorcery.〔Gaskill 2005: p123〕 Of these 4 had died in prison prior to the trial〔 and 15 or 16〔Notestein 1911: p173; 403〕 were subsequently hanged. Nine who had been convicted of conjuring spirits were reprieved.〔Gaskill 2005: p129〕 Within a year of the death of Matthew Hopkins, John Stearne retired to his farm and wrote ''(A Confirmation and Discovery of Witchcraft )''. ==References== Notes Bibliography * * 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Stearne (witch-hunter)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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