Case file · Witch trials
Dame Alice Kyteler, Kilkenny
In 1324 Bishop Richard de Ledrede accused Alice Kyteler, a wealthy Kilkenny moneylender, of sorcery, denying Christ and having a demon lover. She fled; her servant Petronella de Meath was flogged and burned.
1324 CE · 52.65, -7.25 · status: official
The account
It is the first recorded witchcraft trial in Ireland and one of the earliest in Europe to accuse a woman of a pact with a demon. Kyteler's stepchildren, who wanted her fortune, supported the charges.
The sceptical view
Historians see a property dispute and a clash between the bishop and the local nobility; Petronella, a servant, paid the price.