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[[File:Matthew Hopkins.jpg|500px|thumb|Portrait of Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins]] | [[File:Matthew Hopkins.jpg|500px|thumb|Portrait of Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins from the [[Magicians, Martyrs, and Madmen Tarot]]]] | ||
'''Matthew Hopkins''' (c. 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament. His activities mainly took place in East Anglia. | '''Matthew Hopkins''' (c. 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament. His activities mainly took place in East Anglia. | ||
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==Witchfinder General== | ==Witchfinder General== | ||
[[File:Familiars.png|350px|thumb|Frontispiece from Matthew Hopkins' The Discovery of Witches (1647)]] | |||
Following the Lancaster Witch Trials (1612–1634), William Harvey, physician to King Charles I of England, had been ordered to examine the four women accused, and from this there came a requirement to have material proof of being a [[witch]]. The work of Hopkins and John Stearne was not necessarily to prove any of the accused had committed acts of maleficium, but to prove that they had made a covenant with [[the Devil]]. Prior to this point, any malicious acts on the part of witches were treated identically to those of other criminals, until it was seen that, according to the then-current beliefs about the structure of [[witchcraft]], they owed their powers to a deliberate act of their choosing. | Following the Lancaster Witch Trials (1612–1634), William Harvey, physician to King Charles I of England, had been ordered to examine the four women accused, and from this there came a requirement to have material proof of being a [[witch]]. The work of Hopkins and John Stearne was not necessarily to prove any of the accused had committed acts of maleficium, but to prove that they had made a covenant with [[the Devil]]. Prior to this point, any malicious acts on the part of witches were treated identically to those of other criminals, until it was seen that, according to the then-current beliefs about the structure of [[witchcraft]], they owed their powers to a deliberate act of their choosing. | ||