Essay Questions

Who do you believe to have murdered Mr Quill?

There are two leading suspects for the stabbing of Mr Quill. The first is Edmund Jordan. He has heard from Lizzie Carr that the leader of their group of witches is the newcomer cartographer, and it is possible that he would murder him because of this. He is also angry that Quill has openly agreed with the villagers about the unfairness of their predicament and could have killed him because of this.

It is also likely that the murder was committed by Mistress Beldam. Generally it would be difficult for a woman to overpower a man and stab him to death, but in this case, Quill is crippled and therefore unable to fight back. She might have seen him as "the enemy" and might also be angry that he betrayed her husband by pretending to befriend him just so that he could find out more about her and try to trap her when she brought food and water.

How did the Inclosure Act affect the villagers?

The Inclosure Act made boundaries on the land where previously there were none. Prior to the Act, there was no "owned land". Everything in the feudal system was common land and the land therefore fed the villagers once the feudal lords had taken their profit from the top. After the Act was made law, it was possible for landowners like Jordan to change the use of the land, and to select the most profitable use for it. This was a problem because it meant that the villagers, who owned no land of their own, were unable to provide food for their families from the harvest, and therefore had no option other than to leave the village and start afresh somewhere new. Although the Inclosure Act ultimately led to the Agricultural Revolution, making it a positive thing, it also allowed greedy landowners like Edmund to abuse the system and feather his own nest whilst evicting the villagers from their homes.

What were the two main forms of punishment in the village?

The main punishments at this time were being burned at the stake, and being placed in the stocks or the pillories. Heretics were generally burned at the stake, and this was a punishment also given to women suspected of being witches.

The stocks and the pillories were two versions of the same kind of machine of public punishment. They were made of wood and they locked the offender into a forward-bending position, either sitting down (stocks) or standing up (pillories). They would then enable the villagers or townspeople to throw their own "missiles" at the prisoner, traditionally rotten fruit and vegetables, and sometimes more threateningly stones or small rocks. Both punishments would be carried out in a public place so that everyone in the village could join in.