Witchcraft and Devil Lore in the Channel Islands: Transcripts from the Official Records of the Guernsey Royal Court, with an English Translation and Historical IntroductionPitts, John Linwood
History
Witchcraft and Devil Lore in the Channel Islands: Transcripts from the Official Records of the Guernsey Royal Court, with an English Translation and Historical Introduction
_Collas Hugues_ reported that being at a wedding, _Collas Becquet_
arrived there, and began to toy with his daughter-in-law, who repelled
his advances; the very same evening she was taken ill in such a manner
that they thought she would have died from one hour to another;
besides which she remained under the charm, and they found one of the
witches' spells in her bed, which was shown to the Members of the
Court, who were making an inspection at St. Peter's; the said girl
sometimes fell to the ground quite blinded.
The wife of the said _Hugues_ deposed to exactly the same as her
husband.
_Jean de Garis_, son of _William_, deposed that about two or three
years ago, having lent some money on pledge to _Collas Becquet_, he
asked him for the money, or else for a verification of his security;
when the said _Becquet_ replied that he would let him know what his
security was; the said _de Garis_ having then returned home, found his
daughter sick and afflicted; they found witches' spells and other
conjurations several times in their child's pillow; but the mother of
the said _Becquet_ having come to the said _de Garis's_ house, he gave
her a drink of water and half-a-loaf of bread, as he had been advised
to do; since which time they had found nothing more in the child's
pillow; however to avoid all risk of the said witches' spells they had
always since then let their child sleep upon straw; he fully believed
that this evil had come upon them by their means.
_Mr. Thomas de Lisle_ deposed that _Thomas Brouart_, who resided in
his house, having called the son of _Collas Becquet_ a wizard, it
happened that there was one day found in the said _Thomas's_ bed a
great number of maggots, which the said _Sieur de Lisle_ saw, and
compared to an ant-hill, so lively and thick were they, and they could
hardly clear the said child of them, although they put it in different
places; afterwards the said child gathered lice in such a manner that
although its shirts and clothes were changed every day they could not
free it; the said _Thomas Brouart_ also had a brand new vest, which
was so covered with lice that it was impossible to see the cloth, and
he was compelled to have it thrown among the cabbages; upon which he
went and threatened _Massi's_ wife that he would beat her if she did
not abstain from thus treating his child; and on returning he found
the said vest among the cabbages clear of lice, which had also since
then quitted the said _Brouart_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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