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Leicester boy
The Leicester boy trial was one of Leicester’s most notorious witchcraft cases, in which a thirteen-year-old boy publicly accused 15 women of causing a possession within him. The case took place in Husbands Bosworth, a small town not far from Leicester in 1616. John Smith fell into a series of violent fits, not even several men could hold him down. He made strange noises, and, as noted in a letter from Alderman Robert Heyrick to his brother Sir William,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Witches In Early Modern England )〕 he would beat himself with inhuman strength, yet somehow remain unharmed. He gave extensive details on their familiars. The two judges, Sir Humphrey Winch and Sir Ranulph Crewe quickly condemned the women, rounding all 15 of them up. Nine of them were tried, found guilty and hung for allegedly possessing John Smith. The other six were placed in prison to wait their turns. None of them were named before being hanged. King James I happened to be passing through about a month later, and heard what was going on. He called for John Smith to be questioned, and had little trouble determining the child was fraudulent. He broke down, and confessed the truth. Of the six women who had been imprisoned, only five of them were released, as one of them died inside. According to a timeline, the woman who had died told the jailer she was working with the witches against Smith the day before she died. She had begged him not to say anything because the witches would harm her.
It was not until recently that courts began to consider child testimonies again, though they still deeply consider it before trusting them. Due to the Leicester Boy case, and others like it, many judges were wary of trusting anyone, especially children, in claims of witchcraft. The two judges associated with the cases had their reputation seriously damaged, and the story was transformed into a satirical comedy making fun of them in The Devil Is an Ass by Ben Jonson.
==Religious and Political Background==
During the time of the witch trials, it was not difficult to rile people up over. The Witchcraft Act of 1604 had just been passed by Queen Elizabeth. According to the act, which was named An Act Against Conjuration, Witchcraft and dealing with evil and wicked spirits, altered the law and made witchcraft a felony punishable by death. It added that it would be without the benefit of the clergy for anyone who “invoked evil spirits or communed with familiars”.
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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