A Discourse of Witchcraft as it was Acted in the Family of Mr. Edward Fairfax of Fuystone

In 1621, Anne Fairfax of Fewston, Yorkshire, died suddenly. Some local women were accused of causing her death by witchcraft, but the case collapsed at their trial. Anne’s father, Edward Fairfax, remained convinced that Anne had been killed by witches. This manuscript sets out the case for the prosecution. The illustration shows one of the accused ‘witches’, Margaret Wait (no. 11), with her familiar (no. 12), ‘a deformed thing with many feet, rough with hair, the bigness of a cat’. Shown here: ff. 48v–49r