The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) has acquired a rare first edition of Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft published in 1584, an extraordinary book that provides insight into the concepts, ideas and conditions that influenced Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
The acquisition is the most important addition to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s internationally significant collections in more than a decade. This acquisition, forthcoming display and programming has been made possible with generous support from the Arts Council England / V&A Purchase Grant Fund, the Art Fund, the Friends of the Nations’ Libraries, and a private donor.
Published when Shakespeare was 20 years old, The Discoverie of Witchcraft is one of the most remarkable books to emerge from Elizabethan England. Written by Reginald Scot to challenge contemporary beliefs about witchcraft and the persecution of those accused of practising it, the book takes its readers deep into the supernatural imagination of the sixteenth century.
Its pages are filled with striking woodcuts, magical diagrams, conjuring tricks, angelic characters and symbolic seals. Together, they reveal a society fascinated by the boundaries between the natural and supernatural, the credible and incredible, and the visible and invisible.
Shakespeare repeatedly returned to this uncertain territory. Witches, fairies, ghosts, prophecy, magic and illusion appear throughout plays including Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, King Lear and The Tempest. But the supernatural in Shakespeare is rarely straightforward. His witches and spirits can frighten, entertain and deceive, but they can also give form to deeper anxieties about power, fate, nature and the unknown. The Discoverie of Witchcraft gives us a remarkable way into these questions, revealing some of the ideas and debates circulating in the world in which Shakespeare was writing.
Danielle Patten, Assistant Director of Museum Engagement at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said: “This extraordinary book gives us a thrilling glimpse into Shakespeare’s imaginative world, filled with magic, spirits, illusion and the supernatural. We can’t wait to bring its remarkable stories and images to life through our research, displays and programmes, opening up new ways for visitors to explore the ideas that fascinated and inspired Shakespeare.”
According to Prof Charlotte Scott, Director of Shakespeare Scholarship at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust: “The acquisition of a first edition of Scot's text holds a significant place in our imagined library of Shakespeare's creative corpus. Sitting amongst Shakespeare's sources, inspirations, provocations and knowledge networks, the SBT holds a unique collection of the information ecologies that inspired both Shakespeare and his contemporaries.”
Leanne Manfredi, National Programmes Lead, Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, Victoria and Albert Museum said: “Few books offer such a fascinating window into the beliefs, fears and debates of early modern England as The Discoverie of Witchcraft. The Arts Council England / V&A Purchase Grant Fund is delighted to have supported its acquisition by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, where it will be researched and shared with audiences, helping to bring the world of Shakespeare and his contemporaries to life for future generations.”
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, the home of Shakespeare for the world, is best known as one of the most popular attractions in the UK welcoming nearly 500,000 visitors to Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and New Place Gardens annually as well as curating and caring for a unique collection of more than one million rare early modern books, manuscripts, archives, works of art, and objects illuminating Shakespeare’s life, times and work. The addition of the 1584 Discoverie strengthens this exceptional resource and creates new opportunities to connect audiences directly with the ideas, beliefs and stories circulating during Shakespeare’s lifetime.
The book will go on public display as part of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s 180th anniversary programme, from autumn 2027. It will provide a springboard for new activity for visitors of all ages, using its extraordinary stories and images to inspire a world that is more curious, creative and connected.
Through these programmes, displays and research, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust will use The Discoverie of Witchcraft not simply as an extraordinary historic object, but as a way of asking new questions about Shakespeare: what did he and his audiences believe? What frightened or fascinated them? And how did Shakespeare transform those ideas into some of the most memorable supernatural characters and moments ever created for the stage?
The 1584 first edition of The Discoverie of Witchcraft will join the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s collections in Stratford-upon-Avon and will be made accessible through public display, research, learning programmes and digital engagement.
ENDS
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The rare first edition was acquired through a private sale facilitated by Christie’s, with generous support from the Friends of the Nations' Libraries, Art Fund and the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund.
With thanks to our funders:
Friends of the Nations’ Libraries
The acquisition was made possible with generous support from the Friends of the Nations' Libraries.
Art Fund
The acquisition was made possible with generous support from Art Fund.
Arts Council England / V&A Purchase Grant Fund
Purchased with support from the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund
The Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund is a government fund that helps regional museums, record offices and specialist libraries in England and Wales to acquire objects relating to the arts, literature and history.
It was established at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in 1881 and continues to be part of its nationwide work.
The annual grants budget, currently £725,000, is provided by Arts Council England National Lottery Funding.
Each year, the Purchase Grant Fund considers some 150 applications and awards grants to around 100 organisations, enabling acquisitions of over £3 million to go ahead.
Visit the website: www.vam.ac.uk/purchasegrantfund.