Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	king_n	parliament_n	sovereign_a	3,527	5	9.3552	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49785	The lawes against vvitches, and conivration And some brief notes and observations for the discovery of witches. Being very usefull for these times, wherein the Devil reignes and prevailes over the soules of poore creatures, in drawing them to that crying sin of witch-craft. Also, the confession of Mother Lakeland, who was arraigned and condemned for a witch, at Ipswich in Suffolke. Published by authority.	Lakeland, Mother. aut	1645 (1645)	Wing L694AA; ESTC R200343	5,681	10

The LAWES against VVITCHES AND CONIVRATION AND Some brief Notes and Observations for the Discovery of WITCHES Being very usefull for these Times wherein the DEVIL reignes and prevailes over the soules of poor Creatures in drawing them to that crying Sin of WITCH-CRAFT ALSO The Confession of Mother LAKELAND who was arraigned and condemned for a Witch at Ipswich in Suffolke Published by Authority London Printed for R. W. 1645. The Lawes against VVitches c. Anno primo Iacobi Regis Cap. 12. The penalty for practising of Invocation or Conjuration c. BE it enacted by the King our Soveraigne Lord the Lords Spirituall and Temporall and the Commons ●n this present Parliament assembled and by the au●hority of the same that the Statute made in the fifth yeare of the Reigne of our late Soveraigne Lady of most Famous and Happy memory Queen Elizabeth Entituled An Act against Conjurations Inchantments and Witchcrafts be from the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel next comming for and concerning all offences to bee committed after the same Feast utterly repealed And for the better restraining the said offences and more severe punishing the same be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid That if any person or persons after the said Feast of St. Michael the Archangell next comming shall use practise or exercise any invocation or conjuration of an evil and wicked spirit or shall consult covenant with entertaine imploy feed or reward any evil and wicked spirit to or for any intent or purpose or take up any dead man woman or child out of his her or their grave or any other place where the dead body resteth or the skin bone or any other part of any dead p●rson to be imployed or used in any manner of Witchcraft Sorcery Charme or Inchantment or shall use practise or exercise any Witchcraft Inchantment Charme or Sorcery whereby any person shall be Killed Destroyed Wasted Consumed Pined or Lamed in His or Her body or any part thereof that then every such Offender or Offenders their Ayders Abetters and Councellors being of any of the said offences duly and lawfully Convicted and Attainted shall suffer paines of death as a Felon or Felons and shall lose the priviledge and benefit of Clergy and Sanctuary And further to the intent that all manner of practise use or exercise of Witchcraft Inchantment Charme or Sorcery should be from henceforth utterly avoided abolished and taken away Be it Enacted by the Authority of this present Parliament that if any person or persons shall from and after the said Feast of St. Michaell the Archangell next comming take upon him or them by Witchcraft Inchantment Charme or Sorcery to tell or declare in what place any Treasure of Gold or Silver should or might be found or had in the earth or other secret places or where goods or things lost or stolne should be found or become or to the intent to provoke any person to unlawfull love or whereby any Cattell or Goods of any person shall be destroyed wasted or impaired or to hurt or destroy any person in his or her body although the same be not effected and done that then all and every such person or persons so offending and being thereof lawfully convicted shall for the said offence suffer imprisonment by the space of one whole year without baile or maineprise and once in every quarter of the said year shall in some Market-Town upon the Market day or at any such time as any faire shall be kept there stand openly upon the Pillory by the space of 6. hours and there shall openly confesse his or her errour and offence And if any person or persons being once convicted of the same offences as is aforesaid do eftsoones perpetrate and commit the like offence that then every such offender being of any the said offences the second time lawfully and duly convicted and attainted as is aforesaid shall suffer paines of death as a Felon or Felons and shall lose the benefit and priviledge of Clergy and Sanctuary saving to the wife of such person as shall offend in any thing contrary to this Act her title of Dower and also to the Heire and Successor of every such person his or their titles of inheritance succession and other rights as though no such attainder of the Ancestor or Predecessour had been made provided alwayes that if the offender in any the cases aforesaid shall happen to be a Peer of the Realm then his tryall therein to be had by his Peers as it is used in cases of F●lony or Treason and not otherwise The Observations for the discovery of Witches NOw for asmuch as Witches are the most cruell revengefull and bloody of all others The Justices of Peace may not alwayes expect direct evidence seeing all their works are workes of darkenesse and no witnesses present with them to accuse them and therefore for their better discovery I thought good here to insert certaine observations partly out of the book of discovery of the Witches that were araigned at Lancaster Anno dom 1612. before Sir Iames Altham and Sir Edward Bromeley Judges of Assise there And partly out of Mr. Bernards Guide to grand Iury-men 1. These Witches have ordinarily a familiar or spirit which appeareth to them sometimes in one shape sometimes in another as in the shape of a Man Woman Boy Dogge Cat Fo●le Fowle Hare Rat Toad c. And to these their spirits they give names and they meet together to Christen them Ber. 107. 113. 2. Their said Familiar hath some big or little teat upon their body where he sucketh them and besides their sucking the Devil leaveth other markes upon their bodies sometimes like a Blew-spot or Red-spot like a flea-biting sometimes the flesh sunck in and hollow all which for a time may be covered yea taken away but will come again to their old forme and these the Devils markes be insensible and being pricked wil not bleed and be often in their secret parts and therefore require diligent and carefull search Ber. 112. 219. These first two are maine points to discover and convict these Witches for they prove fully that those Witches have a Familiar and made a League with the Devil Ber. 60. So likewise if the suspected be proved to have been heard to call upon their Spirit or to talk to thē or of them or have offered them to others So if they have been seen with their Spirits or seen to feed some thing secretly these are proofes they have a familiar c. 3. They have often pictures of clay or wax like a man c. made of such as they would bewitch found in their house or which they roast or bury in the earth that as the picture consumes so may the parties bewitched consume 4. There are other presumptions against these Witches as if they be given to usuall cursing and bitter imprecations and withall use threatnings to be revenged and their imprecations or some other mischief presently followeth Ber.