Matthew Hopkins

[ImJustMadAboutSaffron]

I'm currently reading The Manningtree Witches (I've read several books that include Hopkins) and I think the word is that he's an ineffectual and rather pathetic chap who styles himself The Witchfinder General to make up for his weaknesses and shortcomings, whilst being crafty enough to take advantage of the hiatus of power during the Civil War. In this book empathy for the "witches" is built up gradually and the story serves in part as a social history of the times, exposing bullying arrogant men like Matthew Hopkins as a serial killer and sexual predator who used his connections with the Church and the witch trials as nothing more than an excuse to exert power and control.

But if I was one of those women accused of being a witch in those days, I'd have used my powers to get rid of Hopkins, Stearne and everyone else involved in the witch hunts. The fact that they didn't proves, of course, they were rather crap Witchfinders and of course they knew this.

I wish they had been witches and done this. Matthew Hopkins is one person I would really like to kick hard in the balls (but I doubt he had any).