Royal Witches: Witchcraft and the Nobility in Fifteenth-Century England

In her first book, historian Hollman reveals how allegations of witchcraft were used as political weapons against powerful women in late medieval England. Exploring the cases of queens and high-ranking nobles, Hollman demonstrates the effectiveness of such unprovable accusations in stripping women of their wealth and damaging the fortunes of their families. The life of Joan of Navarre, wife of Henry IV, is particularly illustrative, as Hollman describes how Henry V allowed accusations of the use of malevolent magic to be leveled against his stepmother in order to seize Joan’s property to finance his war for the French crown. In the case of Eleanor of Cobham, similar accusations succeeded in destroying the influence of her husband, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Rank and nobility of blood offered little protection against allegations of witchcraft, and Hollman notes how a foreign birth and widowhood made women yet more vulnerable to such plots.