Table of contents for April 2022 in History Revealed

Clever Copenhagen clothier Christian Troelstrup certainly knew how to make his business stand out from the crowd: by covering the entirety of his five-storey shop in overcoats. According to press reports from the time, the Dane came up with the marketing tactic while figuring out what to do with excess stock before moving into a new premises. Remarkably, the gimmick worked, and curious locals started gathering outside the shop in their hundreds. By the time the police had arrived to control the crowds and demand that the coats be taken down, all the garments had been sold.…

1428–47 At least 367 people are tried for witchcraft in the Duchy of Savoy (now part of southeastern France and Switzerland) in what is widely considered to be Europe’s first series of witch trials. Many of the victims are accused of being werewolves. 1431 Joan of Arc, who had led the French army to victory over the English at Orléans in 1429, is put on trial for more than 70 charges, including sorcery. She is convicted and is burned at the stake for heresy. 1487 Heinrich Kramer publishes his deeply misogynistic treatise on witches, Malleus Maleficarum (‘The Hammer of Witches’), in what is now Germany. 1542 The English Parliament, under Henry VIII, passes the Witchcraft Act. It defines witchcraft as a crime punishable by death, but is repealed by Edward…

ANNIS HEARD, 1582 ACQUITTAL In 1582, Annis Herd from the village of Little Oakley, Essex, was accused of witchcraft. Several farmers said she had killed their animals, and the rector of a neighbouring parish accused her of murdering his wife. Annis was tried at Chelmsford Assizes. The case looked watertight: her young daughter confessed that her mother kept demonic spirits, Annis had a reputation for promiscuity and witchcraft, and she was accused by a clergyman. But at the assizes, records suggest she was charged with only one minor offence and then acquitted. Why? It’s impossible to be sure, but doubts about the rector’s evidence and Annis’ connections with a prominent local family probably helped. Annis went back to everyday life and continued to fight off accusations; she died at home…

ACCUSED: Isobel McKessock YEAR: 1662 RESIDENCE: Rhynd, nr Perth TORTURE TYPE: Sleep deprivation. This was the most common torture method and one that proved very effective, since lack of sleep is known to cause hallucinations. The victim would have been watched constantly and ‘walked’ to keep them awake. ACCUSED: Mary Muarn Vic Innish YEAR: 1662 RESIDENCE: Inverness TORTURE TYPE: Whipping, sleep deprivation, binding by ropes, hanging by thumbs and feet burning. ACCUSED: Alison Balfour YEAR: 1594 RESIDENCE: Stenness, Orkney TORTURE TYPE: Cashielaws. The victim’s legs would have been enclosed in an iron case around which fire was heaped. Balfour is thought to have been kept in the cashielaws for 48 hours. ACCUSED: David Johnston YEAR: 1661 RESIDENCE: Dalkeith, nr Edinburgh TORTURE TYPE: Haircloth. The accused would have been covered with…

TORTURING ‘WITCHES’ WAS LEGAL IN ENGLAND Contrary to popular belief, torturing an accused witch until he or she ‘confessed’ to their supposed crimes was actually illegal during English witch trials. But on the continent, it was a very different story, says Owen Davies, professor of history at the University of Hertfordshire. “Torture is one of the key reasons that so many people were prosecuted – and executed – for witchcraft in the early modern period,” comments Davies. “When torture was deployed during interrogations, the accused would invariably implicate several other people. They, in turn, would be brought in, tortured and interrogated, and would incriminate yet more people, and so it went on. “There’s a notorious case that took place in the now German town of Ellwangen between 1611–18, where the…

BOOKS The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present By Prof Ronald Hutton (Yale University Press, 2017) Ronald Hutton traces the story of witchcraft and the treatment of suspected witches across the world – including in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia, and North and South America – from ancient Pagan times to current interpretations. Witchcraft: The Basics By Prof Marion Gibson (Routledge, 2018) An accessible and engaging work that explores the phenomenon of witchcraft from the Middle Ages through to its resonances in the modern world. Using two case studies, Gibson looks at the emergence of the witch as a harmful figure within western thought and the representation of witchcraft throughout history. The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic By Prof Owen Davies…

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear  by Vincent van Gogh, January 1889 On 7 January 1889, Vincent van Gogh was discharged from hospital after one of the most traumatic events of his life. Heavily bandaged and missing his left ear, which he had violently mutilated some two weeks earlier while in the throes of a mental crisis, the 35-year-old artist made his way home. In a letter to his younger brother, Theo, 10 days later, he seemed cautiously optimistic for the future but still mentally fragile: “I retain all good hope. But I feel weak and a little anxious and fearful... I’ve started work again and I already have three studies done in the studio...” One of those three studies was this remarkable self-portrait, created in the wake of his recent breakdown…

UP IN ARMS The armless ancient Greek sculpture, the Venus de Milo, was once the centre of a censorship issue when it was put on trial in Mannheim (now part of Germany) for nudity in 1853. The stone icon was ultimately found guilty. PISTOLS IN THE PULPIT Not everyone in Scotland was keen on the new Book of Common Prayer after its introduction in 1637. Faced with an angry congregation, the bishop of Brechin, Walter Whitford, ascended the pulpit for a service with a pistol in each hand. SHAKE IT OUT The renowned Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla got his friend Mark Twain to stand on his high-frequency vibrating oscillator experiment in the hopes of curing the author’s constipation. It worked. LONG LIVE THE DOLL When a 12th-century king of Tonga…

The Dark Queens: A Gripping Tale of Power, Ambition and Murderous Rivalry in Early Medieval France By Shelley Puhak Apollo, £25, hardback, 336 pages Does the phrase ‘the Merovingian dynasty’ leave you cold? Never fear: as this gripping, accessible history makes clear, sixth-century France was as riven by rivalry, ambition and vengeance as any medieval TV epic. Centre stage are two queens – Brunhild and her sister-in-law, Fredegund – who defied the constraints usually placed on women to reign, and compete, for decades. Complete with maps, illustrations and a cast of characters, this is a vibrant exploration of these complex individuals, their world, and their legacy. The Greek Myths That Shape the Way We Think By Richard Buxton Thames and Hudson, £20, hardback, 304 pages Slaying the monstrous Medusa, gifting…

Go to the theatre much? No, nor me. At least not before I became an actress. I know what you’re thinking. Actress, eh? But you can keep your dirty-minded thoughts to yourself. I trod the boards and no more. Doesn’t mean I don’t have a story or two to tell, mind. Would you be kind enough to indulge me if I talked about the old days? Hard as it was back then, I can’t say that if I had my time again I’d change it. That feeling you get before the show starts. Whether you’ve been up Drury Lane once, twice or ten times, I reckon you’ll know it. It comes up on you as the lights go down. The fizzing in your belly conjured by cheap gin and jellied…

A FRUITY SUBJECT I so enjoy BBC History Revealed, especially the Christmas 2021 issue. What a wonderful plethora of fascinating articles. I was intrigued by the ‘What Great Paintings Say’ feature on the Arnolfini Portrait and have been inspired to contribute a couple of comments. Firstly, the Brussels Griffon, which is almost touching the hem of the lady’s dress, has been described by enthusiasts as a ‘velcro-dog’ for its preference for one person (or couple, at most). It is also described as being especially alert to visitors, as seen in the mirror reflection. Secondly, I can’t find any reference to oranges being associated with original sin; it is apples that are usually interpreted, or rather misinterpreted, as the fruit mentioned in the Book of Genesis. On the contrary, most references…

In 1977, a miner in the Magadan Oblast of eastern Russia made an amazing discovery: a perfectly preserved baby woolly mammoth, buried within a thawed patch of earth. Had it not been for the fact that the species had long been extinct, onlookers would have been forgiven for thinking that the frozen animal had died recently: blond fur still covered his skin, and traces of his mother’s milk even remained in his stomach. Given the name ‘Dima’ after a nearby stream, experts deduced that the mammoth would have been around eight months old when he fell into a mud pit and drowned more than 40,000 years earlier. To prevent the body from decomposing in the sun, Dima was placed in a tent before being taken to Leningrad (now St Petersburg)…

ANCIENT GREEK ARTEFACTS FOUND IN ITALY The remains of an ancient Greek temple, along with helmets and fragments of weapons, have been uncovered in southern Italy. Archaeologists made the discovery at the site of Velia, a colony founded by Greek settlers after defeating the Etruscans and their Carthaginian allies at the sixth-century BC battle of Alalia. Experts believe that the objects may have been left as offerings to the goddess Athena, with one of the helmets possibly taken from the enemy during the naval clash itself. Also found at the hilltop location were vases inscribed with the word ‘sacred’. BRONZE AGE WOMEN TOOK THE LEAD A mass migration to Orkney during the early Bronze Age was mostly led by women, claims a new study authored by researchers at the universities…

2 April 1066 A PORTENT OF DOOM Astronomers across Asia are transfixed by a “broom-like vapour” spreading across the skies, caused by Halley’s Comet. Soon, Europeans also witness the astral phenomenon, and the English interpret it as a sign of trouble yet to come. Later that year, the country is conquered by the Normans. 6 April 1896 LET THE GAMES BEGIN The first edition of the modern Olympic Games kicks off in Athens, 1,503 years after the original sporting event is outlawed by the Roman emperor Theodosius. In total, some 240 athletes from 13 nations arrive in the Greek capital to compete, with an estimated 80,000 spectators turning up to attend the opening day alone.…

Most people will be aware of the notorious traditional superstition that a witch can be detected by throwing her (or more rarely, him) into a body of water. If she floats, then the water has rejected her, and she is guilty. If she sinks, then it has accepted her and, if she can be hauled out before she drowns, she is innocent. Many fewer will know that the throwing of suspects into water is first recorded in the law code of the Babylonian king Hammurabi, almost 4,000 years ago. This is just one illustration of a broader truth: that the beliefs concerning witchcraft which underpinned the infamous early modern European witch trials, in which tens of thousands of people were executed, have ancient roots. Without understanding those roots, it is…

AGE: Unknown CASE DATES: 13 June 1704–30 January 1705 ACCUSED OF: Causing a young boy to suffer fits CASE NOTES Janet Cornfoot was one of several women accused of causing Patrick Morton, the 16-year-old son of a smith in Pittenweem, Fife, to suffer fits and convulsions. Named with three other women by another accused witch, Beatrix Laing, all five were imprisoned and subject to various methods of torture, including sleep deprivation, pricking and beatings. Cornfoot eventually ‘confessed’ to the charge, adding that the Devil had visited her in prison, but later retracted the confession. After escaping, Cornfoot was seized by an angry mob of local men and dragged to the harbour. Bailies (civic officers) tried to save her, but she was seized by the mob again and crushed to death…

While it has often been used as an interchangeable term to describe any form of witchcraft in popular culture, Wicca is a specific religious belief system that firmly has its roots in 1940s England. Wicca is known for its worship of both a god and a goddess and its eight ‘sabbats’ (annual festivals) that celebrate the changing seasons and connection to the Earth. Although Wicca has often received negative press for supposed links to dark demonic magic and Satanism, the reality is very different. Wiccans today use their take on magic to conduct religious rituals, drawing on pre-Christian traditions and cultures, but always aligned with a code of “harm none and do as you will”. The story of Wicca begins in the New Forest, southern England, with a man named…

Tucked away in a British newspaper called The Globe in its edition of 4 October 1920 was a short story with an intriguing headline: “A Mock Paris: French Plan to Hoodwink German Raiders.” The ruse, explained the paper, had only just come to light, and it was almost too fantastical to be true. “Camouflaged streets, factories, dwelling houses, railways, with stations and trains complete, and in fact a camouflaged capital, was the gigantic task on which French engineers were engaged when the Armistice put an end to military operations,” ran the report. It was the brainchild of an electrical engineer called Jacopozzi; a way to draw German aircraft away from the capital and onto a fake conurbation where bombs could fall without causing death and destruction. But the Germans sued…

The battle of Lepanto, on 7 October 1571, was the largest naval encounter in the west since antiquity. Looking to expand their influence and territories across the Mediterranean Sea, the mighty Ottoman empire came up against a coalition of Catholic European powers that had been brought together by the pope. This Holy League amassed a huge fleet to meet the Ottomans off southwestern Greece, near Nafpaktos (or Lepanto). While the Ottomans had more ships, they were not as well equipped, and months at sea had left the fleet depleted of resources and men. Also, the Holy League had far superior cannons. After four hours of fighting, the Ottoman commander Ali Pasha was killed and his flagship, Sultana, captured. The victory was celebrated across Catholic Europe; a morale-boosting triumph that proved…

Marriage mart machinations Bridgerton / Netflix, season two streaming from Friday 25 March It says much about how Bridgerton has reengineered the costume drama that it’s both reassuring and radical. Reassuring because, even more than Downton Abbey, it’s a slice of pure escapism, a view of the Regency era so frothy as it is beguiling. Radical because, in eschewing period drama conventions, notably in its use of black and Asian actors in lead roles, it reaches out to new audiences. And connects with these audiences when you consider that some 82 million households worldwide have so far streamed Bridgerton, which debuted on Christmas Day in 2020. For those who haven’t yet seen the show, it’s based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels and plays out in the world of high society,…

The Coming Storm: episode one bbc.in/3gRbN1t History fans fascinated by the ways in which the recent past emerges unexpectedly in the present will enjoy this look at the longer roots of today’s political unrest in the US. When protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington DC in early 2021, many felt galvanised by then president Donald Trump – but the seeds had been planted much earlier. Extinct animals of medieval Britain bit.ly/AnimalsPod106 Embark on a historical safari through medieval Britain in this interview with scholar Lee Raye, recorded in February 2022. While some of the featured beasts, such as boars and wolves, may be familiar from dramatic retellings of the period, others are likely to prove rather more unexpected: beavers, big cats, and even whales. In Our Time: Romeo and…

Where did the inspiration for Theatre of Marvels originally come from? I researched 19th-century popular culture while completing my MA in Victorian studies. It was a time when so-called freak shows were at the height of their popularity and audiences would pay money to gawp at people who were different. Some people were exhibited because they were considered ‘exotic’, like Sarah Baartman (a southern African woman disparagingly known as the ‘Hottentot Venus’), or because they had disfigurements, such as ‘Elephant Man’ Joseph Merrick. I wanted to imagine things from the perspective of the performers – what they felt and what led them to become caught up in the spectacle. Theatre of Marvels is a mash-up of the things that interest me, that I’ve studied, and that I wanted to respond…

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD C1870 For centuries, people have been morbidly fascinated with the mummies of ancient Egypt. However, this level of fascination has sometimes reached disturbing extremes. As Egyptomania swept across the globe during the 1800s, wealthy collectors decided that they weren’t just interested in the treasures found inside the tombs, but the linen-wrapped bodies themselves. To keep up with the demand, Egyptian vendors – such as the man pictured here – would sell mummies to tourists on the streets. As well as grinding up the bodies to make paint (a pigment known as ‘mummy brown’), some buyers would obtain the remains to host ‘unwrapping parties’ for their guests. Another upper-class trend was to display parts of mummies around the home – it must have been unnerving to…

Dancing is a fantastic way to stay fit and nimble, and these young men – seen practising their moves at a training centre for the blind in Florence – certainly aren’t going to let their disabilities keep them off the dancefloor. Although specialist schools for the visually impaired had been established around the world during the late 18th century, it wasn’t until the early 20th century that vast improvements began to be made in education, recreation and training for blind people. Braille became more widely established, and by the 1920s, numerous advocacy groups – such as Italy’s Union of Blind and Partially Sighted People – had been founded with the intention of improving people’s lives further.…

“I need to be able to control 1,200lbs of fiery horse, while travelling at nearly 30mph and wearing 75lbs of armour” HOW DID YOU GET INTO JOUSTING? I studied drama in London in the early 1980s and stage combat was taught as part of the curriculum. For this part of the course, I was very lucky to be taught by a renowned fight choreographer named John Waller, who had gained a reputation for staging exciting combats that were also as close to being as historically accurate as possible. As well as being the best teacher in the country at the time, John also ran a history group called the Medieval Society. Founded in 1963, the goal of the group was to explore the skills of the medieval warrior. After being…

“I’ve got horses, cats, dogs, sheep, goats, emus, ducks, geese, rabbits, guinea pigs...” Patti Keane pauses for a moment, then continues – “parrots, seagulls, African frogs...” It’s fair to say Patti likes animals. In fact, she’s turned her house in rural Wales into a sanctuary, but before you think this column’s gone all furry and cute, a word of warning... Patti’s ghost story is one of the most shocking I’ve heard. It’s no overstatement to say she stared potential death in the face. It started when she was in her late teens. Patti moved to Farnham in Surrey to attend art college. She and two friends found a flat to rent in a building called Tanfield House, a former coaching inn, now a dilapidated student digs. Before long, Patti’s friend…

When most of us think of witches, the image of three cackling women chanting the refrain “Double double toil and trouble / Fire burn and cauldron bubble” probably springs to mind. But when Shakespeare added those infamous lines to Macbeth, witches were considered a very real threat. During the 16th and 17th centuries, thousands of people across Europe and the American colonies – many of them women – were arrested, tortured and executed for carrying out supposedly diabolical acts. Indeed, while such scenes are now mostly consigned to the realm of film and television, people genuinely believed that they lived among others with supernatural abilities. In this month’s issue of BBC History Revealed, we’ve teamed up with expert Professor Owen Davies to explore the history of witchcraft in spellbinding detail,…

AGE: Approx. 40-50 CASE DATES: December 1676–20 February 1677 ACCUSED OF: The attempted murder of Maxwell of Pollock by witchcraft CASE NOTES Janet Mathie and four other people were accused of using witchcraft to murder their landlord, avid witch-hunter Sir George Maxwell of Pollock, after he experienced severe pain in his right side. Mathie ‘confessed’ to meeting with the other accused witches, and to meeting with the Devil, whom she described as “a black man with a bluish band, white hand cuffs, and hogers (leg coverings) with no shoes, and with cloven feet”. A wax figure with pins in its side was allegedly found in a hole in the wall behind her fire. She was found guilty and sentenced to death by strangulation followed by burning on 20 February 1677.…

Despite her prolific artistic output and appearance in numerous published memoirs, letters and literary works of leading figures of her age, Sarah Biffin’s remarkable life has been largely overlooked. I and my fellow colleagues gradually began to discover her story through portraits we chanced upon in the last three years at auction and elsewhere: with each encounter our curiosity and admiration grew, as did our desire to find out more. This has now culminated in the decision to hold an exhibition at our gallery on Pall Mall, London, from 1 November – 16 December 2022. It will be the first of its kind in almost a century to show Biffin’s artistic achievements. The artefacts will partly come from private collections and museums on both sides of the Atlantic and include…

Theatre of Marvels By Lianne Dillsworth Hutchinson Heinemann, £14.99, hardback, 432 pages Zillah, a poor London orphan from the slums of St Giles, dreams of going up in the world and leaving her troubles behind her. Becoming an actress at Crillick’s Variety Theatre seems to be her only ticket out, even if – as a young black woman in Victorian England – audiences pay merely to gawp and gaze at her. However, when a new stage act mysteriously disappears, Zillah descends into the city’s dark underbelly to find out the truth. Torn between two powerful admirers and caught up with notorious criminals from her past, can she survive?…