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Two denominations of Christianity with differing views on how to deal with these malevolent topics, led not only to a generally heightened public interest in these matters, but to further separation of the Church, as well as the public exploitation of the Individuals Involved; such as in the case of Anne Gunter. Some of this, seemingly, for the benefit of added credibility to the respective faiths and the politics with which they were attached. The invention of the printing press had a large Impact on the general awareness of witchcraft and demonic possession.
It was the perfect medium for the strict sects thin Catholicism, the Jesuits, and within Protestantism, the Puritans, to convey their messages concerning demonology (74). The first of these were very large, detailed works, such as: A Treatise Against Witchcraft, by Henry Holland, a Puritan divine (75). Although this tract was available to Brian Gunter during the time Anne fell ill, it is not likely one of the sources he consulted for Ideas to fake Ann.’s bewitchment (77). There was, however, a boom of shorter pamphlets that explained certain witch-trials in great detail.
The following pamphlet was definitely used by Brian Gunter as preference material to dupe the town of North Morton: The most strange and admirable discoveries of the three Witches of Harbors arraigned, convicted and executed at the last Assizes at Huntington, which describes the demonic possession and witchcraft of the Ticktacktoe children at Harbors In Huntington (7). Also of importance was the impact of both Catholic and Protestant writers collectively, in their agreement that the increase in wickedness, witchcraft, and possession, was a sign of the end times and marked the Second Coming of Christ (142).
This may have UT the minds of readers into a predisposed state of believing witchcraft accusations at the first notion. Catholics and Protestants alike believed In the possibility of the demonic possession of human beings, but went about relieving the inflicted individuals much differently. Matthew 10:1 in the New Testament describes Jesus giving his disciples the power to cast evil spirits out of possessed Individuals. This was the foundation of Catholic exorcism (141). A priest would in effect be the medium through which God would cast out the demon.
Protestants, on the other hand, were very skeptical of this race, Ana were also more Kelly to attribute ten appearance AT melanoma possession to natural causes or fraud (143). In cases where the individual was truly believed to be possessed, they turned to Mark 9: 14-29 as their source to relieve the inflicted (146). This passage describes Jesus casting out an evil spirit through nothing but fasting and prayer. The Protestants adopted this method of rigorous fasting and prayer as their comparable service to exorcism for the possessed (146).
Due to the supernatural quality and importance of these events, many times large roods were present to “cheer on” the Catholic exorcist or the Protestant minister (146). This public exploitation of the inflicted turned into somewhat of a conversion contest or propaganda war, where spectators of a successful Catholic exorcism or Protestant anti-demonic ritual would convert to the respective faith. Specifically, the German city of Suburbs was converted from a dominant Protestant area to Catholicism by public exorcisms (143).
Also, a Jesuit priest named William Weston was responsible for four to five thousand converts to the Roman Church during the sass’s through his public exorcisms (147). The Protestant use of this propaganda to gain followers to the Church of England would be suppressed by Richard Bancroft, Bishop of London, in 1604. Bancroft made dispossession only permissible when licensed by a local bishop (152). This enactment was felt by Anne Gunter when three clergymen came to her on behalf of Henry Cotton, bishop of Salisbury.
Anne recounts that the clergymen could not fast or pray for her because the bishop had not licensed them (171). There is something quite interesting about Anne and Brian Gunner’s connection to Oxford University. At the time of Ann.’s illness, Oxford University and Exeter College ad been well cleaned of Roman Catholicism by Queen Elizabeth. The Queen selected Thomas Holland, Ann.’s brother-in-law, to be the professor of divinity at Oxford University and rector of Exeter College (92).
It is peculiar that during a time when Holland had recently given a sermon on behalf of the Church of England’s skepticism of possession and witchcraft, many of Oxford’s very own medical experts were willing to identify Ann.’s ailments as being supernatural, without much skepticism at all. Of these men were Bartholomew Warner, whom along with Roger Bridgeable, received a sample of Ann.’s urine to examine and diagnose. Both men denied Ann.’s sickness to be of natural cause.
Bridgeable even went as far as to clearly identify witchcraft as the cause of her ailments, and recommended Brian Gunter find a cunning man to heal her (99). There were many other prestigious men from Oxford, although without a medical background, who were willing to testify on behalf of Anne Gunter: John Prideful, Thomas Winnie, John Harding, William Helmet, William Harvey, John Whetstone, and Thomas James (102). One must wonder, how, in an area of supposed skepticism of possession, Brian Gunter was able to confuse ND assemble this many important, intelligent men.
Of other important, intelligent men, the trial of Anne Gunter was of notable interest not only to Richard Bancroft, the Bishop of London, but to King James himself. Richard Bancroft was a well known skeptic of possession, and wanted to put an end to the witchcraft trials in most cases. He also had much concern for the innocently accused, and went to great lengths to make sure they remained safe, as in Elizabeth Jackson’s case (151). King James had a interest in Ann.’s case because it generally puzzled nil. Klan James was a canola AT demonology Ana Ana previously Ritter a tract, Demonology, about witchcraft (177).
He was also interested in resolving witchcraft matters quickly and fairly. The English Reformation of the 16th century gave way to some very differing perspectives of witchcraft, demonic possession, and how to handle them. Neither denomination nor the sects within could agree on what, exactly, the truth about a demonic possession was or how to remedy it, but they did share a common trait: The possibility of demonic possession was very real, and this is very visible in the evidence of The Bewitching of Anne Gunter.