Traversing with the Tudors

'There was a Beldame called the wytch of Ey, Old mother Madge her neyghbours did hir name Which wrought wonders in countryes by heresaye Both feendes and fayries her charmyng would obay And dead corpsis from grave she could uprere Such an inchauntresse, as that tyme had no peere.' On 27th October 1441, the citizens of medieval England witnessed the burning of a witch - a fairly common sight in that era. People flocked to the square at Smithfield where a huge stake was erected and logs were being piled on in preparation for the immolation. Men, women and children alike waited in macabre anticipation to witness the punishment and thereafter collect any relics, if any, of the so-called witch who was in the centre of a widely publicised trial. The witch in question? Margery Jourdemayne. In my previous post, you may recall that Margery was one of the person instrumental in the downfall of Eleanor Cobham, the erstwhile Duchess of Gloucester. So, who was she?