Sunday, October 21, 2007

Is the pebble trial real or invented?

People ask me whether The Witch's Trinity is based on a particular case of witchcraft I found in my research. It's not--it's an amalgam of all the different things I read, as well as some invention.

The pebble trial is a good example of this. In The Witch's Trinity, a character must endure a test of her innocence. A kettle of water is boiled, and three pebbles are thrown into the steaming, rupturing water. The character is asked to retrieve the pebbles--if she can get them, and if she remains unburned, she is innocent.

In my reading, I learned about the pebble trial. It did exist. But I altered it slightly to suit my story--rather than one pebble, the character must collect three, a reference to the Holy Trinity. Like many of the witchcraft tests, this one is impossible to pass successfully.

If you have read The Witch's Trinity (or even if you haven't!) and would like to ask me any questions, please feel free to do so either by writing a comment on any post--the comments automatically go to my in-box, so I always see them--or by sending me an email to (my first name) (the AT symbol) (erikamailman.com). I would love to hear from you.

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