Account of two men witnessed practicing witchcraft

Transcript

May it please your worships to understand that we John Gilbert

and John Holmead servants to Humfrey Weld citizen and grocer of London

being at our master’s house at Southstreet in the parish of Edmonton

the xxj [21st ] day of this instant month of September were commanded

by the constables with others to make search for certain men which

were about the act of witchcraft or conjuring. Which men we found

in the field or close of one Robert Hewes otherwise called Robert Carpenter

which ij [2] conjurers when they espied us one of them fled away, but the other

of them we took with certain Latin books about him, which are to be seen.

Divers [various] others returned to their cabin which they had made under a great

tree in the said close of the said Robert Hewes with certain circles on

the ground within the said cabin and one of the said circles was laid

about with parchment written upon with crosses. And by the said cabin

we found a stool with divers pots by the same stool and a red

cock [chicken] being dead by it, and again by the said stool a fair crystal

stone with this word (Satan) written on it. Also a parchment

written with three or four seals of yellow wax at the same

we found also in the same cabin a Cope (cape worn by churchmen) Sirpler [surplice or church tunic] a Crown

a Sceptre and a fair broad sword ready drawn being set up against

the tree and divers other books and writings and a piece of brass

gilded with divers letters graven upon it, and powders and ratsbane [arsenic]

which the party that fled strewed in the way disappointing thereby

our blood hound. And the party which we took had about him the

picture of Christ on the cross hanging behind his back under his

doublet & on the same string before him the picture of serpents or

such like. And the said party was brought by the Constables before

Mr Justice Clark to be examined, and we understand that the said

conjurer is let go upon security to answer the same at the next

sessions