A grim, terrifying and bloody witch-hunt took place in full force in Europe around the fifteenth century, when the infamous Hammer of the Witches appeared. At the bonfires of the Inquisition, "servants of Satan" burned alive, frightened people denounced each other, executioners in dungeons beat out confessions from unfortunate victims with sophisticated torture, and priests were at the head of all this madness. With their uncontrolled power, they diligently fed the raging flame of obscurantism. But history has preserved an example when a woman accused of witchcraft managed to avoid reprisals. Her name is Alice Kiteler. She is considered the first witch in Ireland.
The history of obscurantism
In the late thirteenth - early fourteenth centuries - while Alice lived, the Inquisitors had not yet taken full control of human lives into their own hands. This bloody period will come later. At the same time, medieval Europe lived with a still unshaken idea of the world, the structure of which was extremely simple. God stands above everyone, and between him and people there was a respected mediator - the church. To get to heaven, one had to sincerely believe and live according to the commandments. And the clergy of those times spent a lot of energy trying to connect philosophy and theology. And although a clear division between the two worlds - the spiritual and the secular - existed, it was harmonious and convenient for everyone.
But at the beginning of the fourteenth century, the two worlds began to slowly but surely move away from each other. Instead of trying to explain to lost souls their mistakes and show the way to the light of the truth of faith, the clergy began to lean towards one method - excommunicate the heretic from the church and destroy him. Accordingly, theology and science began to drift apart from each other. Moreover, the first considered herself the only true one and tried in every possible way to stifle all attempts of dissent.
Because of these breaks in the fourteenth century, the way of life familiar to Europeans collapsed. From now on, the clergy perceived themselves not as guides between the two worlds, but as fighters against sinful laity (and there were no others, according to the church). After all, it was ordinary people, being weak creatures, who were the ideal weapon in the clawed paws of Satan. The colors were thickened by the tragic events that shuddered Europe: the years of crop failures and famine, the bloody Hundred Years War, the Black Death epidemic … The laity lived in superstitious fear. Therefore, the witch hunt is a consequence of the panic that the clergy actively fed. People with physical disabilities were the first to fall under the distribution. Then suspicions spread to all people, regardless of their nature or type of activity.
At the same time, the church at first was quite tolerant of healers. Although they were not touched, they were all under the supervision of the Inquisition. The fact is that healers were considered completely harmless magicians, even if they did not belong to the bosom of the Christian church. But if they were convicted of heresy - an agreement with the devil - then they were immediately sent to the fire. Magic separately, pact with the fiend of hell - separately.
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But over time, these concepts have mixed. The "grandmothers with plantain" also began to be referred to as the servants of Satan. And the search, identification and eradication of witches was devoted to many weighty treatises written by clergy-demonologists. These manuals later formed the basis of the most famous book dedicated to the exposure of evil spirits - "The Hammer of the Witches", published in 1487. It was then that the fight against obscurantism and unfolded in full force.
But the events in which Alice Kiteler became the main character took place one and a half hundred years before the appearance of "The Hammer". Therefore, the Irish woman in her confrontation with the church still had a chance of success.
Witch-hunt. Start
November 3, 1324 marked a new page in the life of the whole of Ireland. On this day, in the main square of the city of Kilkenny, by the decision of the church, the first witch in the entire Emerald skeleton was burned. She was a certain Petronilla de Meath, the maid of the wealthy and influential Alice Kiteler. In general, the investigation initiated by the Bishop of Ossori Richard de Ledrede was conducted against the mistress de Meat. But even then, money was everything. Therefore, instead of the lady, they sent Petronilla to the fire.
But first things first.
Lady Alice Kiteler came from a noble Norman-Irish family who lived at Kiteler House in County Kilkenny. Nothing is known about her childhood. But thanks to the trial, information about her rich personal life was preserved. Kiteler has been married four times. Her first husband was the wealthy moneylender William Outlaw. They had a son named after his father. But soon Outlaw died, and his entire fortune passed to the inconsolable widow. But Alice did not grieve for long and remarried. This time, Adam le Blond, who, by the way, is also a very, very wealthy usurer, became her chosen one.
And then Alice was noticed. Former clients of her first husband have filed charges against Kiteler, claiming that she embezzled someone else's money held by Outlaw. Several thousand pounds were soon discovered in a secret location in the basement. And since there was no evidence against Alice, the case was dropped. Is it true that Kiteler tried to appropriate the money for herself or the deceased husband set aside the amount without telling his wife? This mystery will never be solved. Further more. After a short time, Le Blond, for some unknown reason, transferred all his property and finances to his stepson. And, as you might guess, he safely gave his soul to God. Alice's widow did not last long and married a large landowner, Richard de Walle. And this time, family well-being turned out to be fleeting. For reasons unknown, de Valle died, leaving Alice his fortune. The fourth husband of Kiteler was Sir John le Poer, who came from a wealthy and noble family. Unlike the previous spouses, le Poer had children of their own. For several years the family lived quietly and calmly. And nothing, as they say, foreshadowed trouble. But suddenly, in 1323, John fell seriously ill. Moreover, the disease developed so quickly that the medicine of that time did not know how to help the unfortunate man. According to some versions, Le Poer suffered from dizziness and frequent fainting. According to others, all his hair and nails fell out and the man could not move independently. John's children decided that their father's illness was not accidental, so they accused her of witchcraft. During a search of the house, "magic drinks and powders" were found, which were used by sorcerers for black magic. Therefore, Kiteler was suspected of murdering previous husbands and "stealing health" from Le Poer. At all,if not for the intervention of one man, this case would most likely have been hushed up, given the woman's wealth. But to her misfortune, a real fan of his work - Bishop of Ossoria Richard de Ledrede became interested in the events in Kilkenny. Before arriving in Ireland, the bishop lived for a long time in England and France. And everywhere he was followed closely by the reputation of a tough man, obsessed with the fight against any manifestations of devilish power. About six to seven years before the events described above, de Ledrede was appointed head of Ossori, a diocese in Ireland. Arriving at a new place of work, Richard was horrified to see the local customs. Moreover, everyone unpleasantly surprised him: both the laity and the clergy. In the diocese of London and Avignon, he began to send numerous letters in which he spoke in detail about the general drunkenness, fornication and violations of the church charter. And then he learned about the Kiteler case. By that time, it was already practically closed due to the lack of truly solid evidence. But it was for the "magic drinks and powders" that de Ledrede was hooked. In them he saw the perfect opportunity to accuse Alice of witchcraft. Thus, the bishop would be able to simultaneously kill two birds with one stone: to show his superiors how bad things are in Ireland (and get even more power), and at the same time to frighten the local population. Richard personally took up the Kiteler case. He established that a woman stands at the head of an entire group (coven) of sorcerers and heretics living in County Kilkenny. And soon an indictment came out from under his pen, which included seven points. First, it was established that Alice had renounced the Christian faith. Secondly, witnesses said that sorcerers systematically sacrificed birds and animals to demons. And heretics laid out their dismembered carcasses at the crossroads. Thirdly, Alice used enchanted ointments, powders and candles to harm people's health. Especially to their husbands. In addition, Kiteler had his own demon named Robin Artisson, who was an incubus. Well, various "small things": desecration of churches, evil eyes, cooking love spell potions, moving on a broomstick, and so on.
Investigation de Ledrede Twelve people were arrested by order of the bishop: Alice's son and her servants. Kiteler herself was not captured. She managed to escape to Dublin in time, where she hid with wealthy patrons. They also helped the woman to obtain an appeal against the case. Therefore, when Richard tried to strip Alice of his estate rights, he was in for an unpleasant surprise. Instead of Kiteler, the bishop himself was arrested. And even though he spent everything in prison - nothing, it gave Alice time. And she used it as rationally as possible - she hid in England. And no one saw her anymore.
When de Ledrede was freed, he decided to act through the son of Kiteler and her maids. Under severe torture, Petronilla de Meath not only surrendered her mistress, fully admitting the charges on all counts, but also called herself a witch. Richard did not stand on ceremony with her, having heard what he wanted, he immediately ordered to burn de Meath, for the edification of others. She was the first victim of a witch hunt in Ireland.
The rest, including Kiteler's son, were whipped in the market square and sent to jail. William Outlaw spent several months in prison. After which he was sent on a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Thomas, which is located in Canterbury. The punishment was not limited to this. William was fined to repair the roof of the cathedral in Kilkenny, he was required to vow not to miss a single mass and to give alms to the poor. Alice the bishop was able to convict only in absentia. But he deprived her of the rights to all possessions in the county. But the fugitive was hardly worried about these losses.
True, there is a version that de Ledrede managed to find Kiteler in 1325 in England and carried out the death sentence with his own hand. And according to another version, Alice, having changed her name, lived for a long time, trying not to stand out from the crowd.
Author: Pavel Zhukov