The Sorcery Trial of Alice Kytler: A Contemporary Account (1324) together with Related Documents in English Translation, with Introduction and Notes (review)

212 Reviews Davidson, L. S. and J. O. Ward, eds., The Sorcery Trial ofAlice Kytler: Contemporary Account (1324) together with Related Documents in English Translation, with Introduction and Notes (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies), Binghamton, N e w York, 1993; paper; pp. 102; 1 map, 1 plate; R.R.P. not known. Alice Kytler is probably the most well known w o m a n from medieval Kilkenny and possibly from medieval Ireland as a whole. Her trial for witchcraft in 1324 has attracted the attention of poets, historians, and tourists for m a n y years. Today the Alice Kytler Inn serves meals to tourists in a medieval butiding in Kilkenny, complete with models of Alice and her maid, Petronella of Meath, while the m e n u provides snippets of detail about their witchcraft trial. For historians of European witchcraft, the trial is of immense interest, as it is the first which treats the accused as members of an heretical sect and the first which deals with the stereotypical details of w o m e n acquiring their powers through sexual intercourse with the devil. The case is also of interest to historians of medieval Ireland, particularly as it concerns relations between the church and the laity, a subject for which there is otherwise a dearth of good source material. Davidson and Ward have collected, edited and translated the essential documents of the Kytler case in an attractive little book which is aimed essentially at undergraduate students of medieval and early modern witchcraft and heresy. The text has been through a long gestation period from 1973 when the translation of the 'Narrative of the 1324 Proceedings for Sorcery against Alice Kytler' was first prepared for an honours student, through to 1986 when it was revised for use in University of Sydney undergraduate subjects. It has now been completely revised, with other relevant texts included, and with expanded notes and an introduction. The introduction is essential for students attempting to understand the complex political and theological context of the Kytler case and the Anglo-Irish society of fourteenth-century Kilkenny. There is a brief survey of the English government in Ireland; for students of medieval Irish history, this would probably need to be supplemented by readings in the history of the Anglo-Irish settlement Reviews 213 referred to in the notes. The section on the bishop of Ossory, Richard Ledrede, w h o conducted the investigation into Alice Kytler and her associates and possibly wrote the 'Narrative', is informative without being too complex for the intended student audience. Throughout the introduction and the translations, the copious notes point students to further information and reading, which makes this coUection particularly important both for undergraduates and for others w h o might need more details. There is a brief, informative section on the legalities of witchcraft trial proceedings by Peter Walmsley, which, together with a chronology, completes the introduction. The bulk of the text consists of the translation of the trial proceedings. The translation is easy to read and annotated with notes which include explanatory material on everything from the family relationships of the various people named in the text to the medieval meanings of incubus and the like. The text has been divided into sections for ease of reference. The appendices provide translations of material which either supplements the action described in the 'Narrative' or is referred to there. These appendices include a particularly useful set of translations of various papal decretals and constitutions referring to heresy and witchcraft, as well as some of the constitutions of Ossory which were enacted in Ledrede's time. The bibUography, though not lengthy, gives full references to all the texts referred to in the notes and introduction, and provides a good starting point for any students interested in further research into medieval witchcraft or into the histories of Anglo-Irish communities in medieval times. The bibliography could also be a useful supplement to readings specific to courses on medieval gender or sexuality, in which the text of the 'Narrative' itseti would fit very well. This teaching text provides a wealth of information in the introduction, notes and bibliography which could be used...