witches, in other words, the hierarchy of the cult. In each district there was at least one coven; in a large district there might be two, three, four or even more; the members being drawn from the villages in the district. As a rule families entered the same coven; husband and wife, parent and child, were together. Unfortunately the contemporary chronicler was more interested in the appearance of the "Devil" and the recipes for "flying" ointment than in the organisation, therefore the information is recorded only in conjunction with other matters and has to be sought for and carefully tabulated.
Modern French beliefs bring to light the fact that there was a definite and unalterable number of members in each coven. "Il est de croyance générale qu'il faut un nombre fixe de sorciers et de sorcières dans chaque canton. Le nouvel initié reprend les vieux papiers de l'ancien."[1] This fixed number will be found also among the witches of Great Britain whenever a full record of a trial is available, and that number is invariably thirteen. In a small district the coven would consist of the "Devil" and twelve members; in larger districts, the thirteen would appoint one of their number as their officer or leader, the "Devil" presiding over all the covens of the district. The coven consisted of both men and women; the proportion of the sexes varies a good deal and therefore was probably not considered of importance.
In two cases only do we find the witches making a definite statement as to the number of members in a coven; as a rule the number can only be found by actually counting the names, by indirect references made by the witches, or by inference from statements in the record.
The two direct statements were by Isobel Gowdie of Auldearne in 1662 and Ann Armstrong at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1673. Isobel said, "Ther ar threttein persons in
- ↑ Lemoine, Sorcellerie Contemporaine. La Tradition, vi. p. 108.
