Village Life in Medieval Times
The key theme of the novel is the way of life in remote English villages in Medieval times. Village life wasn't easy, but in many ways it was simple. Thanks to a feudal system that saw a landowner responsible for a village or town, villagers had sufficient food to feed themselves and their families. Almost everything that happened was done by mutual consent. Punishment was given out by the Lord of the Manor and would be public and humiliating. The main methods of punishment were a week or two in the stocks or the pillory. This was hazardous and humiliating but the majority of the time not a life or death sentences. Death sentences were done by hanging or burning at the stake.
The main preoccupation of the day was weeding witches out of the village. Witches were both feared and reviled and anyone even suspected of "dabbling" was imprisoned, and most likely burned at the stake. These punishments, too, were public. The villages were fairly idyllic and traditional and the main theme of the novel describes this, also using is to show the sudden brutality of the Inclosure Act that literally wiped out villages overnight if the Lord of the Manor in question was a man of nefarious intentions.
Inclosure Act.
The Inclosure Act completely redrew the landscape of England and Wales because common land became owned and controlled by landlords who were able to redirect the way in which the land was farmed. Although in the majority of cases this was a positive advancement and let to the Agricultural Revolution, in the case of the village in the novel it was a very negative thing. This is largely due to the fact that corrupt and greedy landowners like Edmund Jordan were able to focus on shepherding and decimate the crops that were grown, meaning that there was not enough food to feed the village. The novel shows the terrible consequences of giving bad landowners too much power as a result of the Act
Fear of Strangers
Throughout the novel we see that there is a fear of strangers in the village. The first example of this is when the travelers arrive. They are not made to feel welcome and are almost immediately blamed for the fire that burns down the stables. Mistress Beldam is also blamed for murdering Master Kent's horse. When Lizzie Carr is interrogated about her witchcraft activities, she blames Mr Quill and identifies him as their leader, again because he is new, and therefore innately more suspicious than anyone living in the village.
Witch Hunting
One of the book's themes is witch hunting in the literal, rather than the metaphorical, sense. The fear of witchcraft was palpable in England during Medieval times as traditionally held Pagan beliefs clashed with the new world religions that were being implemented by the monarchy. Being suspected of witchcraft was almost the same thing as being found guilty of witchcraft. In the novel we see the female stranger who is believed to be a witch, and is therefore punished by her head being shaved and her being instructed to submit to any desires of the male villagers, and we also see three young women accused of witchcraft, which they admit to. The villagers heckle the girls' families and taunt them about their daughter being burned at the stake for being a witch. It was a very contentious topic at the time and anyone suspected of witchcraft would be put to death.
