Apotropaic mark

Apotropaic marks (from Greek apotrepein "to ward off" from apo- "away" and trepein "to turn") are symbols or patterns scratched into the fabric of a building with the intention of keeping witches out through apotropaic magic.[1] Evil was thought to be held at bay through a wide variety of apotropaic objects such as amulets and talismans against the evil eye. Marks on buildings were one application of this type of belief.[2]

Marks have been found at Knole House, at Shakespeare's Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, at the Tower of London,[3] and many churches, but little effort has been made to find them on secular buildings.[1] The marks are most common near places where witches were thought to be able to enter, whether doors, windows or chimneys.[1] For example, during works at Knole, near Sevenoaks in Kent, in 1609, oak beams beneath floors, particularly near fireplaces, were scorched and carved with scratched witch marks to prevent witches and demons from coming down the chimney.[4][5] At the Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn, a flower-like pattern of overlapping circles is incised into a stone in the wall.[1] Similar marks of overlapping circles have been found on a window sill dated about 1616 at Owlpen Manor in Gloucestershire, as well as taper burn marks on the jambs of a medieval door frame. The most recent and astounding collection of over 100 marks - previously thought to be graffiti - was discovered February 2019 in Creswell Crags, Notts, by Hayley Clark and Ed Waters of Subterranea Britannica during a tour of the caves.[6] Other types of mark include the intertwined letters V and M or a double V (for the protector, the Virgin Mary, alias Virgo Virginum), and crisscrossing lines to confuse any spirits that might try to follow them.[1][7]

Senior Archaeologist James Wright is one of MOLA's (Museum of London Archaeology) Built Heritage Specialists and an in-house stone expert.[8][5] Knole was acquired by Henry VIII from Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in 1538 for hunting purposes. In 1566 Elizabeth I presented into her cousin Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset however, he did not occupy it till 1603. The house underwent a transformation over the following two years into a Renaissance palace and to this day remains unaltered from that time.[9] During the undertaking of restoration and repair for the opening of Knole the National Trust commissioned the fieldwork to be done undertaken. Wright advises us in his report that ‘detailed analysis of timbers in the Spangled Bedroom, Cartoon Gallery, Outer Wicket Tower, Kings Bedchamber and Upper King’s Store yielded a number of apotropaic symbols. Thirteen symbols were identified carved into a tie beam in the King’s Store.’[10][5] From the detailed report of the beam, it is believed it was laid during the remodelling that Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset had carried out at Knole between 1505-1608. The symbols marked into the wood are referred to in apotropaic practises which is a form of magic to protect against evil.[11] Fear of witches and witchcraft were strong in the seventeenth-century, this was when apotropaic marks were carved into beams, chimney breasts and window-frames. Apotropaism (the belief in and use of apotropaic magic) and its manifestation cannot always be discerned from other forms of magic.[12] These symbols and this form magic were considered to aid the house as they were placed at what was thought to be entry points for evil.[13] What apotropaic magic and other forms of magic share is the belief that an act is carried out, and the belief that, from this supernatural protection something or somebody, depending on what the person preforming the magic wishes to protect will be protected.[14] The aim of the marks in Knole could be to protect the occupants of the house; however, if witchcraft was seen as a crime how is apotropaic magic different? Consideration needs to be taken as despite this magic being that of protection, it is still classed as witchcraft and early legislation placed witchcraft and magic into the same category thus making apotropaic magic a crime.[15] The evidence at Knole is physical evidence that proves the belief of witchcraft and magic in this era.

• Taper burn mark