This song is about Matthew Hopkins, a self-appointed Witchfinder General between 1645 and 1647 who instigated a campaign of terror against defenseless women in the English countryside. It's been estimated that he was responsible, directly or otherwise, for as many as 200 executions.
Little is known about Hopkins's life, and although he was neither the first nor the last, his name has become synonymous with the discovery of witches, and the hysteria and wanton cruelty that swept across Europe in the 17th Century; It had even manifested itself briefly in the United States in the Salem case.
This song states the fact that the mere accusation of witchcraft was enough to condemn a woman to death: "Trial is by water; no one can win. Drown and you're innocent, guilty you swim."
This song is about Matthew Hopkins, a self-appointed Witchfinder General between 1645 and 1647 who instigated a campaign of terror against defenseless women in the English countryside. It's been estimated that he was responsible, directly or otherwise, for as many as 200 executions.
Little is known about Hopkins's life, and although he was neither the first nor the last, his name has become synonymous with the discovery of witches, and the hysteria and wanton cruelty that swept across Europe in the 17th Century; It had even manifested itself briefly in the United States in the Salem case.
This song states the fact that the mere accusation of witchcraft was enough to condemn a woman to death: "Trial is by water; no one can win. Drown and you're innocent, guilty you swim."