The Witch – An Illustrated Story

[ianwarrick]

Here is poor Agnes during her first day in the Old Tolbooth prison, suffering the scold’s bridle and witch-pricking.

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I think the townspeople faced with a witch in their town would like to have her stripped bare and flogged in the town square. A fifteen minute whipping with a new whipper every five minutes to ensure full severity would leave the witch totally striped from neck to knees and the devil thrashed out of her

 

[Marcius]

Magnificent effort, @Steve! Fantastic, really.

 

[Bill8816]

Magnificent effort, @Steve! Fantastic,

Magnificent effort, @Steve! Fantastic, really.

You did a great job telling, and illustrating, the story of Agnes. Do you have another witch hunt story planed?

 

[mp5stab]

Let’s not put too much pressure on the man just yet. (Because I absolutely want to see more lol). But these things take time, inspiration, and labor. But maybe he’ll find some other story to illustrate so lavishly

 

[Aluafaen et Rimmon Ra]

Beautiful pictures!

 

[Steve]

Thank you, @Marcius & @Bill8816. I'm glad you found this thread @Aluafaen et Rimmon Ra . I'm a fan of your work and I'm happy you enjoyed this.

As to an additional series, @mp5stab hit it on the end. I'd love to do another, but this was a monumental task. My last series was 20 years ago (crazy, I know) and THE WITCH was nearly 3 times the size. Also, I looked back at my original PETRA files and that took me 8 months in my younger days, while THE WITCH took me 3, so I surprised myself.

I don't have anything else planned at the moment, although I will post the full sequence of THE WITCH in chronological order within the week once I finish up some additional touches. I went back and looked if there were any errors I wanted to correct or make consistent (for instance, I forgot to do the High Examiner's hair in one illustration before I posted and the shackling mechanism in an early illustration didn't make sense LOL). I also plan something special for THE WITCH, which I'll post in this thread in the coming weeks.

 

[mp5stab]

Well, then, I'll see you all in 2042 for "Via Appia" or "the Slaves of Pedanius Secundus" by Steve.

jk, I'll be here everyday

 

[Steve]

I think the townspeople faced with a witch in their town would like to have her stripped bare and flogged in the town square. A fifteen minute whipping with a new whipper every five minutes to ensure full severity would leave the witch totally striped from neck to knees and the devil thrashed out of her

That's a great idea, but wasn't permitted in 16th Century Scotland for an interesting legal wrinkle. I learned a lot researching THE WITCH.

In England and Scotland at the time, a person wasn't permitted to be publicly punished twice for the same offense. Unlike England, witchcraft in Scotland was a capital crime (in England, it was only a capital crime if the act of witchcraft caused someone's death). As such, a person convicted of witchcraft was required to be publicly hanged pursuant to the Witchcraft Act. So, although I'd have loved to have done a public flogging scene, because Agnes was accused of a capital crime she couldn't be publicly punished except for being hanged. If she was acquitted of witchcraft and convicted of a lesser crime she could have been publicly flogged. And that happened in real life.

Two more legal wrinkles that I found fascinating. One, the real life Gilly Duncan was garroted and then her body burnt at the stake. Why not hanged? As part of her confession she admitted to a bizarre story about trying to assassinate King James VI and his wife as part of being in a witches coven. So she was convicted of both witchcraft and treason (treason was punishable by being burnt at the stake for women). But because she confessed and implicated so many "accomplices" she was given some leniency and garroted first.

Second, in England and Scotland there is a legal difference between a whipping and flogging. Whipping is by a birch or single tail instrument while a flogging is by a multi-tail. In my illustrations, Gilly is whipped while Agnes and the other accused witches in Old Tolbooth prison are flogged.

LOL, @mp5stab

 

[Yupar]

Thank you, everyone, for taking this journey.

Now, the finale of THE WITCH …

On the evening of 18 September 1591, Agnes’ body was cut down from the gallows, along with Alanis’ and Barbera’s bodies because the following day was the Lord’s Day. Denying their grief-stricken families proper funerals and burials, the bodies of the three convicted witches were tossed into a bonfire outside the burgh.

An unusual somber mood befell Edinburgh after the execution. Growing sentiment was that Agnes’ public humiliation on top of her hanging was excessive. One final punishment was enough for an otherwise upstanding woman and anything more betrayed Protestant ideals. The execution crowds were smaller the following week and smaller still the week after that.

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Nicely done @Steve




Her fate is still more fortunate than Petra of Nazareth...
lesser pain and at least they spared her last vantage of modesty.

 

[Steve]

Thank you, @Yupar . I agree that Agnes' fate was not as bad as Petra's, but she did suffer more emotionally.

As promised, and for your personal collections, here and the following posts are THE WITCH in chronological order. I am working on what can be described as filler illustrations, but what follows is the definitive set, including some updated illustrations.

 

[Steve]

 

[Steve]

 

[Steve]

 

[Steve]

 

[Steve]

 

[Steve]

 

[mp5stab]

No doubt that an ebook will be made at once, with all proper commentary included. A real tour de force of execution by hanging

 

[Steve]

Thank you, @mp5stab . The ebook is exactly what I'm working on now and will post it on Crux Forums exclusively as a gift for you all. It'll be a couple of weeks before its finished.

I'm working on some filler illustrations, about 4 to 5 to fill out the story and expanding the text. Here's an example. This is Agnes' arrest. Her husband Matthew tried to stop the soldiers, but they subdued him.

 

[Yupar]

Thank you, @Yupar . I agree that Agnes' fate was not as bad as Petra's, but she did suffer more emotionally.

I hope you would make one stand alone crux for one day.. like a naked woman crucified with nails between two male criminals those wear loin cloths and with rope.
May be you can re-use the Petra model...or else


That's my all time favorite fantasy scene and never get boring on that

As promised, and for your personal collections, here and the following posts are THE WITCH in chronological order. I am working on what can be described as filler illustrations, but what follows is the definitive set, including some updated illustrations.

Thanks a lot

 

[Oldymen54]

Artist DancingMorlock, from "Witcher - The last summit of the Lodge"