Talk:Matthew Hopkins

message: The sharp eyed will notice the missing 'T' but Hopkins himself is known to have spelled his name with only one 'T' and there is evidence for this in many books I have read on the subject, including one such article (shown in the book) that contains his own signature.  I will try and retreive or cite this info in anyway I can. SKC 19:30, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: he did indeed sign himself Mathew Hopkins as shown by a deed held by Suffolk Records Office and imaged in Matthew Hopkins Witch Finder General by Richard Deacon,1976, . Edmund Patrick –  confer 12:33, 17 June 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mathew Hopkins 

message: : looking for the Devil's mark that was supposed to be dead to all feeling and would not bleed. It was believed that the witch's familiar would drink their blood from the mark.
If it didn't bleed, how would the familiar drink blood from it?
Or put another way, is the illogicity here of the Puritans or of the article?
The devils mark is present throughout most witch finding procedures and the frequent explanation is that of the devil (Europe) or familiars (England) suckling blood.
I have never heard of this mark intended to not bleed before. Where does it come from?
The mark did bleed, the witchfinders just wanted to know if it hurt. If it didn't, they were accused of being a witch.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Androzaniamy (talk • contribs) 22:12, 10 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Puritan or article illogicality? 

message: :A man living in New Hampshire who is also named "Matthew Hopkins" and whose father is also curiously named "James" claims that he is in fact the reincarnation of the original Matthew Hopkins.  Although he states that he has sworn off the ability to detect witchcraft, it is notable that he is a psychiatrist, and many people consider psychiatry to in fact be a modern form of witchcraft.
I removed this paragraph from the article in chief.  Not sure that people claiming to be reincarnations of historical figures are worthy of notice here for that reason alone (see WP:BIO).  I also question whether these assertions can be verified.  Smerdis of Tlön 19:55, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Guy claiming to be the reincarnation of MH 

message: Was he the inspiration for the Witchsmeller Pursuivant from Blackadder? Adam Bishop 03:07, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Blackadder 

message: Under the Life and Career Section:
"This boil would be known as The third nipple then he would cut her arm with a blunt knife and if she didn't bleed she was a witch, not a nice guy!"
* There is unnecessary formatting of text (bold)
* "not a nice guy!" is not encyclopedic  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.11.13.15 (talk) 22:21, 10 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Recommend Deletion of non-encyclopedic language 

message: I have quickly added the research I have been doing for the last four months. This does mean that the link to the existing maybe poor and I would appriciate fresh eyes on the subject. two things instantly 1- dictionary of nat bio was listed as saying Grantham as place of birth now same ref says Wenham has someone a copy of the publication. Sharpe is great as a criminal historian I do not know of him as a witch historian. 2- I believe there should be a section about the books about Hopkins, which would explain why most references are in pairs and that some "biographys" are more fiction added to fact, (the case of one historian calling the author of one book a "fraudlant and a liar" being a case in point). I am starting on his career which I will add to the existing.Edmund Patrick –  confer 14:07, 23 December 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: The ODNB doesn't say where Hopkins was born. What it says is: "Hopkins, Matthew (d. 1647), witch-finder, was the son of James Hopkins (d. 1634?), vicar of Wenham in Suffolk." --Malleus Fatuorum 14:11, 23 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  early life prior to career,  

message: It starts "Very little is known of Matthew Hopkins before 1644, with no surviving contemporary documents concerning his family, or him" and then goes on to have a rather detailed paragraph about his family including an anecdote about what a great guy his father was. Either cut the first sentence or clarify this, because right now they're completely contradictory. 169.233.103.13 (talk) 21:17, 18 November 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: The situation is correct.There are no contmproary records but a fair amount of folklore.Slatersteven (talk) 12:13, 19 November 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: just another little annoying vandal edit that slips through many thanks for noticing it. Edmund Patrick –  confer 05:32, 20 October 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  What's with the Early Life section? 

message: This travelogue blog source  says: ".. ‘witches’ were executed in Lavenham by the order of Matthew Hopkins Witchfinder General who charged the town for his services." Is this true and does anyone have a good source? If so, I think it should be added. Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 22:08, 3 June 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Some confusion may have been generated by the 1968 Vincent Price horror film Witchfinder General (film), which used Lavenham extensively as a location. See Matthew Hopkins in popular culture. Martinevans123 (talk) 13:41, 13 December 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lavenham connection? 

message: The intro to that article says "Hopkins' witch-finding career began in March 1646 and lasted until his retirement in 1647" but later states "He is believed to have been responsible for the deaths of 300 women between the years 1644 and 1646" and the body states "Hopkins began his career as a witch-finder after he overheard various women discussing their meetings with the Devil in March 1644 in Manningtree."
So which is correct?--216.31.124.169 (talk) 17:18, 20 July 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: sorted thank you, not sure how or when that happened.Edmund Patrick –  confer 21:04, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Date inconsistency  1644 or 1646? 

message: Interesting idea, shame it is OR. Any one seen this suggestion in RS?Slatersteven (talk) 13:28, 4 January 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: What suggestion, please provide a link, could be worth investigating. Edmund Patrick –  confer 15:34, 4 January 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: I was referring to the edit inserting the idea he was a serial killer.Slatersteven (talk) 15:50, 4 January 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: I see, you are right an interesting point worthy of a discussion somewhere, but one obvious danger (to me) is the imposition of "our" values onto an historic figure and/or event. Thanks, Edmund Patrick –  confer 07:53, 5 January 2017 (UTC)
replies: text:  What about Gilles de Rais he is listed as a serial killer. Not that much difference between the two.--Fruitloop11 (talk) 17:18, 7 July 2021 (UTC)
thread_title: Serial Killer

message: There is a footnote which says "At this time the New Year did not occur until 25 March; all Old Style Dates have been rendered as New Style, with the year beginning on 1 January" (the footnote lacks a period at the end).
Most books and articles about British history, when writing about the period before the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 went into effect in 1752, do shift the start of the year from March 25 to January 1. But they use Julian calendar dates. The phrase "New Style" usually is understood to using both a start date of the year of January 1, and the Gregorian calendar. So the footnote is probably wrong, and at least confusing. Jc3s5h (talk) 19:16, 28 April 2024 (UTC)
thread_title: Unlikely footnote about dates