This is a recreation of a room in the home of a Moorland woman, circa 1850. It can be found in the York Castle Museum, along with an excerpt from her diary.
The passage from her diary reads:
“Life on the moors is hard work. Me, John and three little ones are all in one room with the rest of our cottage needed for the livestock. I suppose I can’t complain, we’ve got everything we need which is more than some can say. Our bed is good and solid. It’s been in my family for years, and we were lucky that it was passed down to me, skiing with some other bits of furniture. I’ve brought a few ornaments and some pictures. They’re nothing fancy but I think they brighten up the place.
It can be lonely here, but having the witch ball at the window to ward off any evil makes me feel better. I must remember to check how much peat we have left. If we don’t keep the fire lit we won’t have any hot food or water which doesn’t bear thinking about. My John says that half the country’s population now live in cities and our way of life probably won’t exist for much longer. I wonder if he’s right.”
Notice the witch ball in the window?
Traditionally, but not always, they were blue or green in colour and made from glass, but some were made from other materials. They were hung in cottage windows in England during the 17th and 18th century to ward off witches, spells and evil spirits.
There were several theories behind them. Some thought that the witch balls diverted the evil eye, others believed that the bright colours would entice evil energies which were then trapped inside. Others thought that the balls prevented witches from entering the room because witches did not have a reflection or could not bear seeing their own.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks so much for leaving comments!