Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm
Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankie. Listener discretion advised. It's the
Speaker 1: beginning of sixteen nineteen and a woman named Philippa Flowers
Speaker 1: is being interrogated on suspicion of witchcraft. Her mother and
Speaker 1: sister have also been accused. Although her mother was already dead,
Speaker 1: she died after being arrested on the way to the trial.
Speaker 1: Philippa herself had not yet confessed, but her little sister
Speaker 1: had begun talking. Grueling conditions and prolonged interrogations would win out. Eventually,
Speaker 1: things were not going to turn out well for Philippa,
Speaker 1: and she knew it. The interrogators continued berating her. Confess,
Speaker 1: they said, for using your witchcraft to bring about the
Speaker 1: demise of the Earl of Rutland. Confess for using your
Speaker 1: magic to bring about the death of his two young
Speaker 1: male heirs, bringing misery to the Earl's home beaver Castle.
Speaker 1: If convicted, the consequences for Philippa for killing two young
Speaker 1: royal boys would surely be death. But there was only
Speaker 1: so long that Philippa would be able to hold out
Speaker 1: without a confession. When the accusation is witchcraft. It's hard
Speaker 1: to imagine you're making it out alive. I'm Danish Schwartz
Speaker 1: and this is noble blood. If you're ever in Leicestershire, England,
Speaker 1: you might find yourself gazing up at a magnificent castle
Speaker 1: perched atop a hill, commanding views of the surrounding countryside.
Speaker 1: The locals call it Beaver Castle, though its actual name
Speaker 1: is Belvoir spelled b e lvoi R. But yes, it's
Speaker 1: pronounces beaver. The name comes from the French belvoir, meaning
Speaker 1: beautiful view. But when the French speaking Normans brought that
Speaker 1: name over in the eleventh century, the Middle English speaking
Speaker 1: Anglo Saxons couldn't wrap their tongues around it. Beaver became
Speaker 1: well Beaver, and it remains that way to this day.
Speaker 1: The castle that you'd see today is not the original structure.
Speaker 1: The original structure was built just after the Norman conquest
Speaker 1: of ten sixty six. It has since been rebuilt at
Speaker 1: least three times. These days, you can tour the grounds,
Speaker 1: attend events. It's all very civilized, but this welcoming facade
Speaker 1: masks a darker history. Four centuries ago, this picturesque setting
Speaker 1: was the backdrop for a tale of suspicion, fear, and
Speaker 1: deadly accusations. Our story takes place in the early seventeenth
Speaker 1: century version of Beaver, which was the home of Francis Manners,
Speaker 1: the sixth Earl of Rutland. Francis and his first wife
Speaker 1: had a daughter named Catherine. Then his second wife, Cecilia,
Speaker 1: gave him two sons, Henry and Francis. Manners inherited his
Speaker 1: title in June sixteen twelve after the death of his
Speaker 1: brother Roger. Almost immediately after Francis became Earl, he was
Speaker 1: made Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, and more importantly, he caught
Speaker 1: the attention of King James, the first we've encountered King
Speaker 1: James before on this podcast. As we discussed in our
Speaker 1: episode titled The witch Hunter, King James had a traumatic
Speaker 1: childhood that left him paranoid and obsessed with the super natural.
Speaker 1: He wrote a treatise on witchcraft called the Demonology, something
Speaker 1: no monarch had done before or since. Though not particularly original,
Speaker 1: the royal authorship of that treatise made it tremendously influential
Speaker 1: when it came to witch hunting. James wasn't just a believer.
Speaker 1: He was the authority what makes James's relationship with the
Speaker 1: Manners family intriguing is that Francis and his wife Cecilia
Speaker 1: were Catholic. Normally, this would have been a problem for
Speaker 1: the extremely Protestant King James. Perhaps you've heard of his
Speaker 1: namesake Bible, but King James's willingness to overlook the Manners'
Speaker 1: family's religious leanings shows just how much he liked them.
Speaker 1: The couple transformed beaver Castle into what they termed a
Speaker 1: quote palace of entertainment, partly for their own pleasure, but
Speaker 1: also to curry favor with the King. The King clearly
Speaker 1: appreciated the manor's family's hospitality. He returned five more times
Speaker 1: after his first visit to beaver Castle. Running a party
Speaker 1: palace required a fleet of workers, most of which were
Speaker 1: sourced from nearby villages. Like most villages during this era,
Speaker 1: the village of Botsford was tightly interconnected. Neighbors relied on
Speaker 1: each other daily, sharing work, information, and resources. Social harmony
Speaker 1: was prized above all, and standing out was rarely advantageous.
Speaker 1: Among Botsford's residents were Joan Flowers and her two daughters,
Speaker 1: Philippa and Margaret. Unfortunately, for the Flowers women, blending in
Speaker 1: was never really an option for them. The Flowers family
Speaker 1: had struggled ever since the death of Joan's husband. In
Speaker 1: those days, widows were sometimes regarded with suspicion. Society expected
Speaker 1: women to remain under male authority, whether that authority be fathers, husbands,
Speaker 1: or sons. The idea that a woman might prefer independence
Speaker 1: to remarriage was often inconceivable. Those who lived without male
Speaker 1: oversight were often viewed with distrust. Joan had a reputation
Speaker 1: throughout Botsford as a disagreeable woman who avoided church, which
Speaker 1: was seen as a serious red flag in such a
Speaker 1: deeply religious age. Her daughters fared no better. Both were
Speaker 1: viciously regarded as women of quote loose morals. The Flowers
Speaker 1: home was rumored to be little better than a brothel,
Speaker 1: with Philippa in particular having a reputation for being out
Speaker 1: at night in those unpaid streets. The Flowers matriarch had
Speaker 1: a reputation also for being a healer, for using her
Speaker 1: knowledge of herbal remedies and natural cures to treat various ailments.
Speaker 1: These quote cunning folk were seen as something of a
Speaker 1: necessary evil in seventeenth century life, while their healing skills
Speaker 1: were valued and relied on. They were also feared for
Speaker 1: the potential that they might use their power for evil
Speaker 1: rather than for good. Despite their questionable reputation, the Flowers
Speaker 1: women became employees of the Earl and Countess of Rutland,
Speaker 1: possibly hired to help prepare for King James's visit in
Speaker 1: sixteen twelve. The trio of Flowers women must have impressed
Speaker 1: their employees because they remained on staff long after the
Speaker 1: King's visit. Margaret, in particular, the younger daughter, gained favor,
Speaker 1: working both in the launch and looking after poultry. She
Speaker 1: was even invited to live in the servants quarters at
Speaker 1: the castle. This good fortune stirred jealousy among the Flowers's
Speaker 1: neighbors and stirred resentment among the other Beaver servants. Positions
Speaker 1: in noble households often passed through generations of the same family.
Speaker 1: For a while, the Flowers women seemed secure in their positions,
Speaker 1: protected by the Earl and the Countess's favor, but tensions
Speaker 1: were building. Around early sixteen thirteen, Beaver's servants formally complained
Speaker 1: about the Flowers women to Cecilia, who managed the household.
Speaker 1: They accused Margaret of stealing provisions from the castle and
Speaker 1: taking them back to her mother's house, where they entertained
Speaker 1: questionable visitors. Reports claimed that quote people of ill repute
Speaker 1: visited Philippa at all. Even Joan was said to have
Speaker 1: as many lovers as her daughters. According to contemporary accounts, Cecilia,
Speaker 1: the Countess, discovered inappropriate behavior by Margaret, along with neglect
Speaker 1: of her duties. That was enough to dismiss her, and
Speaker 1: Margaret left Beaver with orders never to return, despite the
Speaker 1: fact that they allegedly received reasonable compensation. When the Flower's
Speaker 1: family was dismissed, humor spread that Joan had muttered ill
Speaker 1: wishes against the Earl's family. If the Flowers women had
Speaker 1: indeed voiced displeasure towards the Earl and his family, they
Speaker 1: would come to regret it. Witchcraft accusations typically involved alleged
Speaker 1: curses against community members who later suffered misfortune. Add that
Speaker 1: to an already problematic reputation, and Joan and her daughters
Speaker 1: would turn out to be catnip where the witch obsessed
Speaker 1: community already hell bent on putting loud, disagreeable women in
Speaker 1: their place. The witch hunts that swept across Europe from
Speaker 1: the mid fifteenth to mid eighteenth century claimed tens of
Speaker 1: thousands of lives, and the overwhelming majority of those victims
Speaker 1: were women. While the events that would happen at beaver
Speaker 1: weren't unusual for their time, what makes this case so
Speaker 1: remarkable is the high ranking family involved and just how
Speaker 1: clearly it serves as an example of social dynamics in
Speaker 1: seventeenth century England. Shortly after Margaret was dismissed from beaver Castle,
Speaker 1: disaster struck the Manner's household. In the summer of sixteen thirteen,
Speaker 1: their eldest son, Henry, began suffering from a mysterious illness.
Speaker 1: His symptoms included violent convulsions and extreme discomfort that persisted
Speaker 1: for weeks. Despite all efforts to save him, Henry never recovered.
Speaker 1: He died in September and was laid to rest at
Speaker 1: Botsford Church. Looking back at the descriptions of Henry's symptoms,
Speaker 1: which included vomiting and convulsions, modern observers might recognize signs
Speaker 1: of any number of treatable conditions, anything from epilepsy to poisoning.
Speaker 1: But in an era when medical knowledge was limited, when
Speaker 1: a previously healthy child was struck down, especially after someone
Speaker 1: allegedly expressed ill will toward the family, Supernatural causes often
Speaker 1: seemed like the most plausible explanation. Henry's death plunged his parents,
Speaker 1: Francis and Cecilia, into a pit of grief and anxiety.
Speaker 1: Their family's future now depended entirely on their younger son,
Speaker 1: who was named Francis like his father. To their horror,
Speaker 1: not long after Henry's death, young Francis developed identical symptoms.
Speaker 1: Their daughter Catherine also fell gravely ill with similar afflictions.
Speaker 1: To complete the misfortune, both the Earl and Countess themselves
Speaker 1: became sick with these unusual convulsions. While deeply frightening, such
Speaker 1: clusters of illness weren't unprecedented. Disease routinely devastated families across
Speaker 1: all social classes, and young children were especially vulnerable. Nevertheless,
Speaker 1: the servants at Beaver Castle quickly blamed Joan Flowers and
Speaker 1: her daughters. Initially, the Earl and Countess dismissed these accusations.
Speaker 1: Their initial loyalty to the Flowers women is somewhat surprising,
Speaker 1: especially considering Joan had allegedly openly expressed anger about her
Speaker 1: daughter's dismissal from the castle. Joan's outspoken resentment against a
Speaker 1: powerful family was incredibly dangerous, since most witchcraft cases hinged
Speaker 1: on prior hostilities. In order to secure conviction, Joan had
Speaker 1: unknowingly given her enemies the perfect ammunition. While contemporary accounts
Speaker 1: suggests that young Francis was suddenly and inexplicably struck by
Speaker 1: an unexplained sickness, historical records actually indicate his health had
Speaker 1: always been delicate, but now as the family's only hope,
Speaker 1: everything possible needed to be done to restore the quote
Speaker 1: spare air to health. Distinguished physicians were summoned to Beaver,
Speaker 1: including the renowned quote astrological physics doctor Richard Napier. Yet,
Speaker 1: despite the best medical care available, Young Francis continued to deteriorate.
Speaker 1: This failure of conventional medicine may have finally convinced the
Speaker 1: Earl and Countess to consider the whispers that had been
Speaker 1: circulating since Henry's death. Gradually, the Earl and Countess I
Speaker 1: began to suspect witchcraft, widespread belief that if a victim
Speaker 1: couldn't be quote unwitched through countermagic, the only remaining options
Speaker 1: were forcing the suspected witch to confess or executing them,
Speaker 1: which in effect would be turning off the tap to
Speaker 1: the evil. Five years after Henry's death, with young Francis
Speaker 1: still suffering and showing no signs of recovery, formal accusations
Speaker 1: of witchcraft were finally lodged against Joan Flowers and her daughters.
Speaker 1: This happened in late sixteen eighteen while the Earl was away,
Speaker 1: which suggests that Countess Cecilia herself may have been the
Speaker 1: one who initiated the proceedings. The noble classes typically gave
Speaker 1: less credence to theories of witchcraft than the general public,
Speaker 1: but when they did take an interest, people listened, so
Speaker 1: when the upper classes got involved, it acted as a
Speaker 1: force multiplier for witch mania. The case against the Flowers
Speaker 1: women generated significant public interest, After all, most witchcraft trials
Speaker 1: involved obscure villagers and petty disputes, not a prestigious family
Speaker 1: like the Manners. The Flowers women were arrested shortly before
Speaker 1: Christmas sixteen eighteen. After preliminary questioning, the three women were
Speaker 1: scheduled for transport to the judicial court at nearby Lincoln Castle.
Speaker 1: Given the notoriously biased procedures of witch trials, this journey
Speaker 1: must have filled the three Flowers women with dread. However,
Speaker 1: only two of the women would complete the journey. Worn
Speaker 1: down by her treatment and no doubt, terrified at what
Speaker 1: awaited her, Joan Flowers took a desperate measure. While the
Speaker 1: party was en route to Lincoln, she demanded a traditional
Speaker 1: test to prove her innocence. According to observers, Joan asked
Speaker 1: for bread that had been blessed by a priest, declaring
Speaker 1: that if she were guilty, she would be unable to
Speaker 1: swallow it. According to sources, upon receiving the bread, Joan
Speaker 1: attempted to eat it, but immediately began choking. Witnesses reported
Speaker 1: that she collapsed and died in apparent agony before speaking
Speaker 1: another word. Her stunned captors interpreted this as divine confirmation
Speaker 1: of her guilt, and if that story's true, you can't
Speaker 1: really blame them. There's no definitive explanation for this dramatic
Speaker 1: incident if it indeed happened that way, perhaps the psychological
Speaker 1: pressure of believing in the test's power triggered a panic
Speaker 1: response or a heart attack in an already stressful situation.
Speaker 1: But whatever the true story, jones sudden and very incriminating
Speaker 1: death spared authorities the expense of a formal trial. She
Speaker 1: was hastily buried in Ancaster, while her daughters continued on
Speaker 1: to Lincoln. The city had a long history as a
Speaker 1: place of imprisonment and execution. Lincoln Castle, originally built by
Speaker 1: William the Conqueror, had housed shorts and prisons since Tudor times,
Speaker 1: with public executions regularly being performed there. Given their notoriety,
Speaker 1: the sisters were probably confined to a dungeon, which later
Speaker 1: became known as the quote witch hole. It was about
Speaker 1: as comfortable as you'd imagine a place called the witch
Speaker 1: hole to be. Their interrogation began on January twenty second,
Speaker 1: sixteen nineteen, continuing for nearly five weeks. The sisters were
Speaker 1: questioned separately, but similarities in their eventual confessions suggest their
Speaker 1: interrogators used information from one to pressure the other. The
Speaker 1: examiners particularly wanted to establish that the sisters had formed
Speaker 1: demonic pacts, which would guarantee execution under the sixteen oh
Speaker 1: four law that had been passed by James the First. Initially,
Speaker 1: both women resisted. Margaret, questioned first, admitted only to helping
Speaker 1: her mother bewitch Henry Manners. She described how Joan had
Speaker 1: instructed her to steal one of Henry's gloves. When Margaret
Speaker 1: asked why, Joan allegedly replied that it was to harm him.
Speaker 1: Following common witchcraft beliefs, obtaining and damaging a person's clothing
Speaker 1: was thought to cause injury to the owner. Margaret claimed
Speaker 1: that after Joan dipped the glove in boiling water and
Speaker 1: stroked her cat rudderkin with it, Henry was sick within
Speaker 1: a week. Margaret provided a similar account regarding young Francis,
Speaker 1: saying she had found one of his gloves on the
Speaker 1: castle grounds and brought it to her mother, who performed
Speaker 1: the same ritual, declaring the boy would never recover. Margaret
Speaker 1: also described attempts to bewitch Lady Catherine using a piece
Speaker 1: of her handkerchief, but claimed the spell failed. While damning
Speaker 1: Margaret's initial testimonial only admitted to causing illness, not death,
Speaker 1: the interrogators intensified their pressure. This may have included torture,
Speaker 1: which was technically illegal in England at this time, but
Speaker 1: was still employed, especially for high stakes crimes like witchcraft.
Speaker 1: On February fourth, Margaret finally broke completely, confessing that she
Speaker 1: and her mother had conspired to kill the earl's elder
Speaker 1: son out of resentment for her dismissal. Philippa proved more resistant,
Speaker 1: consistently denying any involvement in Henry's death while admitting to
Speaker 1: participating occasionally and harmful magic. But eventually her resolve wore out,
Speaker 1: and she gave the interrogator more than they bargained for.
Speaker 1: Philippa confessed to having a spirit quote in the form
Speaker 1: of a white rat that fed from her left breast.
Speaker 1: She claimed this spirit promised to enchant a local man
Speaker 1: into loving her. All she had to do was allow
Speaker 1: it to suckle her. By this point, Philippa's interrogators might
Speaker 1: have already searched her body for a suspicious birthmark or
Speaker 1: mole that might have signified that a spirit or even
Speaker 1: the devil himself fed there. Whether they found it then
Speaker 1: or after Philippa made her confession, that was all the
Speaker 1: evidence they needed to convict. Once those floodgates had opened,
Speaker 1: Margaret admitted to hosting not one, but two spirits that
Speaker 1: fed on different parts of her body in exchange for
Speaker 1: granting her wishes. With those sensational details, the trial was
Speaker 1: fast tracked. King James sent Edward Bromley to preside over
Speaker 1: the case. Bromley was known for his harsh treatment in
Speaker 1: previous witchcraft trials, which highlights James's personal interest in the proceedings.
Speaker 1: A judge like Bromley, known to pressure juries into convicting
Speaker 1: accused witches, virtually guaranteed the outcome, but even without their confessions,
Speaker 1: the fate of the Flower sisters had already been sealed.
Speaker 1: At this point, it wasn't yet legal practice for defendants
Speaker 1: to have lawyers working on their behalf. With witchcraft trials
Speaker 1: in particular, there were few reliable character witnesses and minimal
Speaker 1: opportunity to present any evidence in one's own defense. Trials
Speaker 1: often devolved into hostile confrontations between prisoners and accusers. Uneducated
Speaker 1: and defending themselves, young women faced a judai system designed
Speaker 1: to confirm their guilt, not designed to discover truth. Margaret
Speaker 1: and Philippa were tried before senior judges Henry Hobart and
Speaker 1: Edward Bromley. Both women were found guilty and sentenced to
Speaker 1: death by hanging. Unfortunately, official trial records have been lost.
Speaker 1: The only detailed account we have comes from an anonymous
Speaker 1: pamphlet published after the proceedings. Concluded. Like many aspects of
Speaker 1: this case, the complete truth may never be known, including
Speaker 1: the authorship of that mysterious pamphlet with the Flowers sisters
Speaker 1: condemned and hanged. Many parties involved found what should have
Speaker 1: been satisfaction. The people of Botsford had their monsters, the
Speaker 1: Rutland family had their explanation for their tragedy. King James
Speaker 1: could claim another victory in his ongoing crusade against witches.
Speaker 1: Everyone involved could feel that proper justice had been served,
Speaker 1: But sadly, eliminating the source of the supposed witchcraft didn't
Speaker 1: cure young Francis Manners the way his parents must have hoped.
Speaker 1: On March fifth, sixteen twenty, just over a year after
Speaker 1: the Flowers sisters were put to death, the boy finally
Speaker 1: succumbed to his illness. With no surviving male heir, the
Speaker 1: Rutland title passed to the Earl's brother, George, who became
Speaker 1: the seventh Earl of Rutland. Only one child of Francis
Speaker 1: had survived, his daughter Catherine, born from his first marriage.
Speaker 1: The Earl and Countess remained so convinced that witchcraft had
Speaker 1: killed both their sons that they set their belief in
Speaker 1: stone literally. Visitors to Saint Mary the Virgin's Church ind
Speaker 1: Botsford can still see the Earl's tomb with its telling inscription,
Speaker 1: marking his marriage to Cecilia and noting that their two
Speaker 1: sons died in childhood quote by wicked practices and sorcery.
Speaker 1: This permanent testament to their beliefs stands to this day,
Speaker 1: But was their conviction accurate. The Manners Boys probably didn't
Speaker 1: die because of witchcraft, but did they die because of murder?
Speaker 1: Because another influential figure lurked at the edges of these events,
Speaker 1: someone who potentially stood to gain considerably from the deaths
Speaker 1: of the Manners Boys. During this period, there was a
Speaker 1: rising star at the court of King James the First.
Speaker 1: If you've heard our episode about George Villiers, you'll know
Speaker 1: he first caught the King's eye in his early twenties.
Speaker 1: Court factions, seeking to replace a previous royal favorite, invested
Speaker 1: heavily in presenting Villiers favorably, securing him a position serving
Speaker 1: the King directly, and their strategy succeeded beyond imagination. Contemporaries
Speaker 1: described Villiers as attractive and charismatic, a personality higher for
Speaker 1: the ages, though he came from modest origins, Villiers experienced
Speaker 1: unprecedented social elevation, quickly becoming the King's most treasured companion.
Speaker 1: King James bestowed knighthood, then made him a marquess, and eventually,
Speaker 1: in sixteen twenty three, elevated him to the Duke of Buckingham.
Speaker 1: The exact nature of their relationship has fueled centuries of
Speaker 1: historical speculation. But what is undeniable is James's extraordinary devotion
Speaker 1: to George Villiers, showering him with privileges, status, and influenced
Speaker 1: unmatched by any other courtier. But what connects this royal
Speaker 1: favorite to our tale of accused Witches? Around early sixteen nineteen,
Speaker 1: as the Flowers women faced arrest and interrogation, George Villiers
Speaker 1: was making moves to lock down Catherine Manners as his bride.
Speaker 1: Katherine Manners the daughter of the Earl from his first marriage.
Speaker 1: As the daughter of one of England's wealthiest noblemen, Katherine
Speaker 1: represented an extraordinarily advantageous match for an ambitious courtier. In
Speaker 1: Tracy Boorman's book Witches, James the First and the English
Speaker 1: witch Hunt, the historian proposes a possible alternative explanation for
Speaker 1: the Manners boys's death. She suggests the possibility that George
Speaker 1: Villiers or his mother might have arranged for the boys
Speaker 1: to be poisoned. Their motives would have been straightforward, with
Speaker 1: the male heirs eliminated, Catherine would inherit the vast Rutland fortune,
Speaker 1: which would then belong to Villiers through the magic of
Speaker 1: the patriarchy. The timing certainly raises questions. Villiers regularly visited
Speaker 1: beaver Castle as part of the King's entourage, providing ample
Speaker 1: opportunity to arrange for poison to be administered. The prolonged
Speaker 1: convulsive nature of the boys's illness aligns with certain symptoms
Speaker 1: of certain poisons. Bormann also questions the origins of the
Speaker 1: pamphlet documenting the Flower's trial, which is our only detailed
Speaker 1: account of the proceedings. She speculates that it might have
Speaker 1: been commissioned by either Francis Manners or George Villiers himself,
Speaker 1: designed specifically to cement public belief in the flowers women's
Speaker 1: guilt and deflect any alternative theories about the boy's death.
Speaker 1: We can only speculate about these possibilities. No conclusive evidence
Speaker 1: links Villiers to the Manners boy's death, nor to the
Speaker 1: prosecution of the Flowers Women, no participant left behind confessions
Speaker 1: of regret or acknowledgments of injustice. The burial of the
Speaker 1: Flowers Women effectively buried any alternative explanations along with them.
Speaker 1: What we do know is that villiers pursuit of Catherine
Speaker 1: Manners succeeded. On May sixteenth, sixteen twenty, merely two months
Speaker 1: after Young Francis died, Katherine married George Villiers. Their union
Speaker 1: initially faced resistance, particularly regarding religious differences, Catherine's Catholic background
Speaker 1: clashing with Villiers, who was a Protestant, but eventually, with
Speaker 1: the King's enthusiastic support, those obstacles disappeared. Through this marriage,
Speaker 1: Villiers gained access to the substantial Rutland wealth, exactly as
Speaker 1: would have been planned if Bormann's theory holds merit. The
Speaker 1: couple produced a son, ensuring the fortune would continue through
Speaker 1: Villiers descendants rather than returning to the Manners family. Villiers
Speaker 1: was assassinated in sixteen twenty eight, taking the truth about
Speaker 1: any potential evil schemes with him to the grave. By then,
Speaker 1: the events at Beaver and the fates of the Flowers
Speaker 1: Women had faded from public consciousness. Overshadowed by the intensifying
Speaker 1: political conflicts that would eventually erupt into Civil war. The
Speaker 1: inscription at Bottsfield Church serves as a peculiar memorial not
Speaker 1: just to two children who died prematurely, but to an
Speaker 1: age when natural and suit supernatural boundaries blurred, when scientific
Speaker 1: understanding remained rudimentary, and when society's most vulnerable could be
Speaker 1: sacrificed to protect the powerful. Perhaps with more advanced medical knowledge,
Speaker 1: both of the Manners boys might have survived. Instead, they
Speaker 1: and three women lost their lives. The families were devastated,
Speaker 1: and the potential true culprit if Bormann's theory was correct,
Speaker 1: walked away with a noble wife and a fortune. Like
Speaker 1: most which trials of this period, were left with questions
Speaker 1: rather than answers. What remains clear is how this case
Speaker 1: reveals the dangerous convergence of power, superstition and vulnerability in
Speaker 1: early modern England. Joan Philippa and Margaret Flowers with the
Speaker 1: perfect scapegoats. They were impoverished, outspoken, and socially marginal women
Speaker 1: who possessed herbal knowledge in a society deeply suspicious of
Speaker 1: female power in any form. Whether they were deliberately framed
Speaker 1: by a calculating courtier, or simply caught in the web
Speaker 1: of superstition that characterized the era. The result was the same.
Speaker 1: They paid for their nonconformity with their lives. That's the
Speaker 1: story of the witch trials of Beaver Castle. But keep
Speaker 1: listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a little
Speaker 1: bit more about the castle itself. If you visit beaver
Speaker 1: Castle today, you'll find a place that's reinvented itself many
Speaker 1: times over. The quote beautiful view that gave the castle
Speaker 1: its name is still there, and the building itself remains impressive,
Speaker 1: though it's now a nineteenth century Grade one mock castle,
Speaker 1: not the structure that the Flowers women would have known.
Speaker 1: There's one annual event at beaver Castle that I find
Speaker 1: particularly amusing. Each year since twenty thirteen, over the autumnal Equinox,
Speaker 1: the castle hosts something called the Equinox twenty four. This
Speaker 1: twenty four hour ultra marathon cuts a ten kilometer path
Speaker 1: through the estate where runners push their bodies to the
Speaker 1: limit with the castle looming in the background. Just picture it.
Speaker 1: Hundreds of modern day fitness enthusiasts in moisture wicking gear,
Speaker 1: apple watches strapped to their wrists, and protein goo PACs
Speaker 1: in their pockets, stomping around the very grounds where the
Speaker 1: flowers women once gathered herbs and allegedly plotted their witchcraft.
Speaker 1: If Joan, Margaret and Philippa are somewhere haunting this place,
Speaker 1: they must be looking at these spandex clad creatures with
Speaker 1: their linking gadgets and wondering what the hell happened to
Speaker 1: good old fashioned magic. The irony isn't lost on me
Speaker 1: that a place once associated with accusations of the dark
Speaker 1: art now hosts an event centered on the autumnal equinox,
Speaker 1: a time traditionally linked to witchcraft and magic across many cultures.
Speaker 1: Four hundred years after women were executed for allegedly casting
Speaker 1: spells during that very season, people gather at Beaver to
Speaker 1: perform their own ritual of sorts, pushing their bodies to
Speaker 1: extremes that would surely seem like madness to the Botsford
Speaker 1: residents who condemned their neighbors for far less strange behavior.
Speaker 1: But that's the thing about the witch trials. They were
Speaker 1: never really about witchcraft. They were about control and fear
Speaker 1: and punishment of those who don't fit neatly into society's expectations,
Speaker 1: and in that sense, perhaps we haven't come quite as
Speaker 1: far from the seventeenth century as we'd like to think,
Speaker 1: but at least now we can track our steps. Noble
Speaker 1: Blood is a production of iHeart Radio and Grim and
Speaker 1: Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me
Speaker 1: Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston,
Speaker 1: hannah's Wick, Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and Julia Milani. The
Speaker 1: show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising
Speaker 1: producer rima il KLi and executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young,
Speaker 1: and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.