In a recent article Willem de Blecourt highlighted how little we really know about cunning-folk in the context of European witchcraft, and stressed the need for further substantial research.' The study of English cunning-folk in the early modern period has been well served by the work of Keith Thomas and Alan Macfarlane, but their respective chapters are, nevertheless, tantalising rather than conclusive. 2 Although in the last twenty-five years early-modern historians have continued to take a strong interest in the witch-trials, and the social dynamics of witch-accusations, cunning-folk have, by and large, been neglected. 3 De Blecourt also remarked upon the paucity of relevant research on cunning-folk in the period after the trials. This observation is particularly applicable to British historiography, and it is the purpose of this present paper to begin to redress this imbalance. Most work on cunning-folk has tended to concentrate on what they did, rather than on who they were. The aim of this present discussion, therefore, is to focus less on the services cunning-folk provided, and more on their personal histories, how they generated a reputation, and how they were viewed by the society they lived in.There were a variety of terms to describe cunning-folk throughout England and Wales, and some regionality can be detected in their usage. 'Cunning-man' and 'cunningwoman', and 'wise-man' and 'wise-woman' were the most popular titles, though the prefix 'cunning' was uncommon, if not unknown, in northern England. 'Conjuror' was more commonly used in Wales and Southern England, and pertained to male practitioners only. 'Wizard' was also a masculine title, and its use seems to have been fairly widespread. It should be noted that both 'conjuror' and 'wizard' were epithets also adopted by professional prestidigitators. 'White witch' was a term more frequently used in educated
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