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Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), (1599 17 year old boy…
Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584)
Boy of Burton (1597)
Samuel Harsnett, A Discovery of the Fraudulent Practices of John Darrel (1599)
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Harsnetts books were very focused and less obtrusive to the general idea of witchcraft in England. Instead of trying to disprove witchcraft as a whole he instead focuses on John darrell who he believes is a fraud and tries to discredit him. He may have choses John Darrel as his Arminian sympathies went against Darrell's puritanism causing Harsnetts to focus in more closely and see the inconsistencies. The book is very focused in its attempt to discredit Darrel rather than witchcraft as a whole, meaning that it is much more readable and absorbable to individuals who still believe in witchcraft. This means that a much wider breath of people gain some scepticism of witchcraft accusations due to the fact that one of the most famous people Darrel ended up not being truthful. This would have planted a seed of doubt in many people's heads. Harsnetts includes a survey of all the people Darrell had claimed to exercise and an interrogation of Darrell himself. He tries to paint Darrell as a sinful liar who cannot achieve what he has stated. He then outlines how Darrel instructed Sommers to feign possession and much more. The point is he uses the book to ruin the image of one of the most prominent figures in witch hunting and therefore damages the image of witch hunting as a whole for everyone.