Coventry Royal murder plot that was first recorded witchcraft trial in the country.
A historic instance involved dozens of Coventrians hiring a necromancer to kill their opponents, including the monarch.
With Halloween approaching, we may expect to see children dressed up as scary characters for parties and Trick or Treating, perhaps even a witch here and there.
The concept of a wicked witch has been discussed in mythology, literature, and popular culture for millennia.
The fear derives from superstition, which led to the persecution of real people, primarily women, with infamous witch trials taking place across Europe and America for centuries.
The most well-known cases are the Salem Witch Trials across the pond and the Pendle Witches in the northwest of England. However, the first recorded witchcraft trial in this country was from a conspiracy in Coventry.
At the heart of this historical account is a dastardly plot of political and ecclesiastical intrigue centred on the city’s mediaeval and cobbled streets, where a group of residents conspired with a local necromancer to use black magic against powerful figures such as the Prior of Coventry and King Edward II.
This interesting tale, kept in archives in Coventry and London, is one you could imagine reading in the pages of a Ken Follet novel – yet there is no fiction here; this is a true life account of something that happened on streets and buildings, some of which may still be here today.
The story begins in the 1320s with Henry Irreys, the then-Prior of Coventry, whose influence and political clout with the governing monarch, King Henry Il, made him unpopular among city citizens.
The animosity was so deep that 27 Coventry residents, most likely merchants and businessmen, were willing to risk everything to get rid of not just him, but also the King himself.
The group despised the prior, who was essentially the most powerful man in Coventry at the time, saying they could no longer live under the harsh conditions he imposed on them – at a time when many Coventry businessmen were becoming wealthy, this could have been due to high taxes and conditions for selling goods in the Coventry market.
They put their heads together and agreed to deploy the abilities of Master John of Nottingham, a Coventry-based cleric and necromancer (another term for a wizard or magician) who was reputed to be working with the devil himself.
The story begins in the 1320s with Henry Irreys, the then-Prior of Coventry, whose influence and political clout with the governing monarch, King Henry Il, made him unpopular among city citizens.
The animosity was so deep that 27 Coventry residents, most likely merchants and businessmen, were willing to risk everything to get rid of not just him, but also the King himself.
The group despised the prior, who was essentially the most powerful man in Coventry at the time, saying they could no longer live under the harsh conditions he imposed on them – at a time when many Coventry businessmen were becoming wealthy, this could have been due to high taxes and conditions for selling goods in the Coventry market.
The animosity was so deep that 27 Coventry residents, most likely merchants and businessmen, were willing to risk everything to get rid of not just him, but also the King himself.
The group despised the prior, who was essentially the most powerful man in Coventry at the time, saying they could no longer live under the harsh conditions he imposed on them – at a time when many Coventry businessmen were becoming wealthy, this could have been due to high taxes and conditions for selling goods in the Coventry market.
They put their heads together and agreed to deploy the abilities of Master John of Nottingham, a Coventry-based cleric and necromancer (another term for a wizard or magician) who was reputed to be working with the devil himself.
The group paid Master John and his assistant Robert Mareschal huge sums of £20 and £15 respectively to use black magic to kill Prior Henry, King Edward Il, and other powerful figures, including the King’s hugely unpopular favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger and his father of the same name.
The 27 Coventry inhabitants, led by Richard Latoner, believed that the Prior, who had the support of the King and the Despensers, was making their lives unbearable.
After paying for the services of John of Nottingham and Robert Mareschal, the two holed up in a hut outside Coventry and fashioned wax effigies of those the gang wanted killed.
One such individual was Robert Sowe, who was supposed to be the Prior’s aide. Robert, who was regarded to be of the least importance, served as the first experiment to test if the magic worked.
A lead pin was placed into the figure’s head, then into the effigy’s heart. The man grew critically ill soon immediately, and it is believed that when the pin was withdrawn from the figure, he passed away.
The success appears to have frightened assistant Robert Mareschal, who immediately divulged the plan’s specifics.
The conspirators’ names were revealed, and they also followed the law. The case was moved to London and the King’s Bench. However, it appears that no one was penalised for the conspiracy.
Master John of Nottingham appears to have died while awaiting trial. Other plotters are said to have died along the way.
According to several versions, a jury judged the remaining plotters innocent, but others claim the trial did not take place – possibly due to Edward Il’s clear unpopularity, who was deposed by his wife, Queen Isabella, shortly after the Coventry conspiracy.
It is unclear what happened to Robert Mareschal, the wizard’s aide who uncovered the scheme. Because of the case’s national significance, the original document is preserved in The National Archives as part of the King’s Bench Papers.
However, Coventry Archives has a photocopy of it; the story is one of many interesting historical items available for exploration at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum’s archives. Mike Bevan, the manager of Coventry Archives, said:
“Coventry has such a rich history, and this witchcraft case is just one aspect of the city’s past that we document in our archives.
This resource contains a wealth of information on Coventry and its people from mediaeval times to the present.
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