Petronilla de Meath

Petronilla de Meath was the maid of noblewoman Dame Alice Kyteler. Following the death of Kyteler's fourth husband, she was accused of practicing witchcraft, and as her maid, Petronilla was accused of being her accomplice.

Poor Petronilla was taken and tortured until a 'confession' was forced from her stating that she and Alice were witches. She was then flogged and finally burned at the stake on this day in 1324 in Kilkenny, Ireland.
Petronilla became the first person to be put to death by fire for heresy in Ireland and Great Britain, many would follow.

Artist Judy Chicago featured a place setting for Petronilla at the table in her art installation 'The Dinner Party' which has the names of 39 mythical and historical women around it. It is on display in New York.

Guillotine first used on this day 1792

The sound of a shearing, falling blade is the stuff of nightmares and brings to mind a head falling into a waiting basket...portrayed in comedy, cartoon and horror films alike, however on the 25th April 1792 it was used for the first time in France for real.

The first 'customer' for the angled blade was highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier and the guillotine (named after inventor Joseph-Ignace Guillotine) remained as France's principle method of execution right up until the abolition of capital punishment in 1981! Very much in living memory for those of us at a certain age.

The last person to be put to death by guillotine in France was Turkish farm worker Hamida Djandoubi also known as 'The Pimp Killer' on 10th September 1977, he was found guilty on all counts of horrific crimes which included the kidnapping, torture and murder of his ex-girlfriend Elisabeth Bousquet. This event was also the last time a western country executed an person by beheading.

The Aberdeen Witch Trials.

(Taken from my original article http://www.spiritualliving360.com/index.php/the-aberdeen-witches-4200/) 

Many have compared the ‘Aberdeen Witches’ era of history to the famous Salem Witch Trials in America, it was a time of persecution, accusation and terror for women who were practitioners of healing, those who had lived to an old age or those that simply ‘looked like a witch’. 

From 1563, it became a criminal offense to practice witchcraft. King James had an obsession with witchcraft, so much so he wrote a book on the subject which he called  ‘Daemonologie’, he developed a compulsion for hunting witches and rallied groups of witch finders to help in his quest, they consisted of ministers and elders of the reformed church along with general citizens who became embroiled in the craze. Many of these so called  "witches" were nothing more than elderly women, people did not generally live long in the 16^th century and longevity was seen as being achieved by magic, other women such as midwives and village healers were also taken for trial. The charges they faced ranged from casting spells on animals, turning milk sour and using enchanted foods to entice young men, it was very much a case of ‘your word against theirs’ when it came to the trials, who would the public believe – a highly respected minister or an old woman?

Many of the accused women actually "confessed" to the charges of witchcraft, simply because the punishment was easier to take than the methods of torture the witch hunters used to get the information, thumb screws, the ducking stool and red hot leg-irons were some of the reputed instruments they had to face. Even if someone was arrested on suspicion of witchcraft and was eventually found not guilty the damage would have been done, they would still be branded with the mark of the witch and be banished from Aberdeen. The ones found guilty by whatever bogus methods the witch finders could exploit were first hanged and then burned on the renowned ‘Heading Hill’ where many criminals came to their end, in fact there is still an early version of a guillotine there today.

A total of at least twenty-three women and one man - Colin Massie who was accused of being a warlock - were charged and executed for witchcraft during this time, countless others would have been captured if they hadn’t been able to escape into the surrounding area. It is a famous and dark period in Scottish history, but gives an insight into the mindset of the day.