The trial of the Knights Templar between 1307 and 1312 foreshadowed the appalling witch hunting mania that was about to grip Europe from the 15th to the early 18th centuries. The allegations made against the knights contained many elements that later featured in witchcraft trials.
The Templars were accused of kissing each other on the base of the spine, spitting at crucifixes, and worshipping a demon called Baphomet. It was even said they revered evil cats. All that sound familiar? It should do because witchcraft was becoming an elite obsession in the late medieval period and the Templars were caught in this murderous trend.
Let’s introduce you to some witches from during and after the Templar period.
FIND OUT MORE: Another look at witchcraft and the Templars
The Witch of Berkeley
The 12th century monk William of Malmesbury told the terrifying story of the Witch of Berkeley in a book titled Gesta Regum Anglorum. This woman was a self-confessed witch “versed in the ancient arts of soothsaying” who was happy to make money out of her magical powers. Sensing her death was near, she called on her son – a priest – and her daughter – a nun – to carry out some weird instructions after she died.
There was nothing that could be done to save her soul but what troubled the witch was the terrible things that the Devil might do to her body in the afterlife. Her children were to sew her corpse into a deerskin, put her in a stone coffin sealed with iron and lead, then fasten the coffin with three heavy chains. Once this was done, the holy mass should be said and her body would be safe.
Well, that was the plan. But on the first two nights after she died, two demons entered the church and began attacking her coffin. They managed to remove two of the chains successfully. On the third night, the Devil himself paid a visit. He managed to remove the third chain and dragged the now conscious witch out of her coffin. She was fixed on to his Satanic steed by iron spikes and screaming for mercy, the two rode off into the night.
Pictured below is the Witch of Berkeley being carried off by the Devil – an illustration in the Nuremberg Chronicle.
DISCOVER: Nicolas Cage and the Knights Templar
Palumbus and The Jealous Venus
In this story, also from William of Malmesbury, the witch is a male priest called Palumbus. The action takes place in Rome where a drunken bridegroom puts his wedding ring on a golden statue of Venus. The jealous goddess then clenched her fist and he was unable to retrieve the ring. When night came, she whispered in his ear that he was now her husband. As a result, he was unable to consummate his marriage with his new wife.
Driven out of his mind by this, he enlisted the help of a priest called Palumbus, versed in the dark arts, who knew how to force demons to do his bidding. In return for a great deal of money, Palumbus directed the foolish young man to a crossroads where he encountered a bleak procession of ghostly figures. He then had to identify the demon in charge and show him a letter, with a wax seal, from the priest. The demon would recognise it and put things right.
While the plan worked for the young man, the demon was furious and sought revenge on the priest at using him like this. Realising his mortal soul was compromised, Palumbus went to the pope and confessed all. Then he insisted that his punishment should be the hacking off of his limbs.
The Witch of Wookey Hole
In the magical county of Somerset – in south-west England – is a network of caves where a witch was reputed to have lived during the Middle Ages. I visited Wookey Hole in 2024, having not set foot there for thirty years. It’s certainly an evocative place.
A stalagmite within the cave, specifically in the first chamber, is said to be the petrified form of this witch, often referred to as “The Witch’s Kitchen”. A monk from nearby Glastonbury Abbey, Father Bernard, is said to have been sent to exorcise the witch’s spirit, and he turned her to stone with blessed water. The stalagmite certainly resembles a woman, and some say it even has the outline of a dog next to it, which is said to be the witch’s faithful companion.
In 2009, Wookey Hole even sought a “witch” to live in the caves, offering a salary of £50,000 a year, although they were required to prove that the original witch was female to avoid discrimination.
Mother Shipton – a witch in Yorkshire
Moving forward over a century from the end of the Knights Templar period, we have the Tudor-era witch Mother Shipton in the northern English county of Yorkshire. Mother Shipton, whose real name was Ursula Southeil, was a 16th-century prophetess, known for her predictions about future historical events, including the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the Spanish Armada in 1588, and is said to have been born in a cave in Knaresborough, Yorkshire.
During the 17th century, at the height of England’s witch-fever, Mother Shipton became one of England’s most famous witches, and drawings of her helped to identify witches as monstrous, hideous creatures. The sad truth is that this poor woman was physically frail and suffered from back problems. That was enough to convince the ignorant that she was a witch.
If you would like to know more about the Knights Templar, then get your hands on a copy of my book: The Knights Templar – History & Mystery. Published by Pen & Sword and available on Amazon, Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, and WHSmith. Don’t miss out on your copy!
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