Daemonologie

Book by James I of Scotland who later became James I of England in 1603 after the death of Elizabeth.

The book is about demons, witchcraft, magic and spirits. James strongly believed in the persecution of witches. This takes us to the trials of North Berwick witches which occurred during 1590 to 1592. Those witches were accused of making several attempts to kill the young king and his wife. King James considered this not only an attack on his life but also an act of Satan (as witches were believed to be the followers of Satan) against the God’s chosen King there a threat to the establishment of God’s reign on Earth. King James took direct part in the investigation and questioning of the witches which affected his thoughts and beliefs on a much deeper level as he mentioned in his Tolbooth speech of 1591 that the proceedings against the witches occupied him for whole nine months and he was a prime mover during the whole matter. He also observed and witnessed torture and confession of the witches and got to know that Devil hates the King considers him the greatest enemy in the whole world. So, James believed all the supernatural and magical activities are the doings of Devil and there cannot be any magic that can have good or positive effects. He spent quite a lot of time in doing his research on the topic of magic and witchcraft and he had a hands-on experience with the north Berwick witches. The purpose of writing such a book was to increase the persecution of the witches in Scotland and in England. Right after he became the King of England, he ordered another edition of his book published in London in order to continue his actions in England against witchcraft. Translations in Dutch and Latin were also published in 1604 and 1607 respectively.

A year after his coronation he enforced mush harsher laws and punishments against witchcraft. Before this magic and witchcraft was crime only if someone gets caught if they practice magic to harm someone but James considered all types of witchcraft practice a form of trafficking with the Devil. So, any form of practicing magic was severely punished regardless of whether it harms somebody or not. Any act which was punished by imprisonment would be now punishable by death. There were a few exceptions where on the first time offense they would be punished by one year imprisonment but if committed the same crime second time then it was punishable by death. Even the capital punishment in England was death by hanging but in Scotland it was death by burning. If a witch would confess a crime then she would be hanged first as an act of mercy to lessen the pain and then was burnt but if a witch would not confess then she might be burned alive.

There is another reason mention by Tim Weed in his writing about James I and daemonologie, he says, “In his article, “Witchcraft and Calvinism in Elizabethan England”, John Teall asserts that the reason that the English under James I came down so hard on witchcraft was because of the Calvinist influence.” He further adds, “The influence from Calvinism arrives in James’ life at an early age when he was tutored by a Calvinist from Geneva, home of John Calvin. Therefore the Calvinist desire to drive witches from this world was always part of James’ thought process.11 His ordeal with the North Berwick witches had only served to strengthen his resolve, and in 1603 he published his great treatise on witchcraft.”

Sources:

Weed, Tim. "James I and Demonology." When Druids and Mystics Ruled Harshly Over the Superstitious Peasants (2007): 105.

Tyson, Donald. The Demonology of King James I: Includes the Original Text of Daemonologie and News from Scotland. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2012.