“Swimming”
The concept of ‘swimming” witches seems to have developed from the idea of trial by ordeal. In English Law, the use of ‘swimming can be dated back to the tenth century when King Athelstan decreed that Indicium Aquae could be used as a test of guilt or innocence for a variety of crimes. Trial by water was eventually taken off the statute books in 1219. However, it continued to be a popular, if an unofficial test of innocence for certain crimes including witchcraft, until it was re-endorsed by James I in 1597.
By its very nature, water was regarded as a pure thing. Large bodies of water had been used originally for baptism and so the theory behind swimming was that the holy ‘baptismal waters’ of the pond or river would test the suspect’s innocence or guilt. According to James I in his “Daemonologie: “God hath appointed … that the water shall refuse to receive them in her bosome, that have shaken off them the sacred Water of Baptisme, and wilfully refused the benefite thereof.” So, if the water rejected a suspect, they were impure, an agent of the devil and a witch.
By the late seventeenth century, the growth of witch hysteria meant that “swimming” was an increasingly popular test for potential witches. The suspect could be tested fully clothed although according to Sir Robert Filmer they were usually stripped naked. They were then tied up. The right thumb was bound to their left toe and vice versa so that suspect’s body formed a ball. Finally, a rope was tied about their waist and they were thrown into the deep waters of the pond or river.
To be swum was a lose-lose situation for the suspect whatever the outcome. If they floated, god and the water had rejected them and so they were proclaimed a witch. However, if they sank, unless those holding the rope were merciful and pulled them out in time, the suspect would drown. Those overseeing the procedure could influence the outcome by how they positioned the victim. According to Thomas Ady writing in 1656, it had become common knowledge that if the victim was laid ‘flat on their back and [holding] up their feet with a string’, then they would not completely sink.
Swimming was used in the case of the Clarkes of Wigston Magna in 1717 as the villagers attempted to gather evidence before taking the witches before the Leicester assizes. Contemporary accounts describe how the accused had “their thumbs and great toes tied fast together and were thrown so bound into the water where tho they strove and used all endeavors to sink yet they all swam like a corke or an empty barrel” This was the last official use of swimming in England. However, the test continued to be used to identify witches right up until the nineteenth century.
A suspect witch was also judged by their words as well as their deeds.