“as with Anne, Alice Kirfoote began to call out in her fits against Elizabeth Gregory and Agnes Pepwell.” Page 55

This quote is very interesting to me because I think it supports the idea that most people at that time may not have even been fearful of actual witchcraft, and that behavior such as this was just due to mass hysteria. While also being able to be used as a political tool, which was what Anne’s father may have been doing, I think much of this behavior can be linked to town gossip and runaway hysteria. At one point, Anne’s father even believed he was bewitched due simply to “a pain he had in his neck” (p. 54). I think this blatantly supports this idea, and could offer a reasonably explanation on why people were acting in this way.

“I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.” p. 144

To me, this may be Elizabeth’s most intelligent move throughout her entire reign. While she presented herself as a ‘Virgin Queen’ to her people, the idea that there was not a man on the throne plagued her throughout almost her entire reign. With this quote, she attempted to kill two birds with one stone as she brought up the idea of being both a king and a queen simultaneously. This would show her subjects that she is a mother to her people in the aspect of being a woman, also with the concept of the ‘Virgin Mother’, and at the same time show them that she is able to govern and act in the same way a King would. Basically, she was attempting to offer the best of both worlds to solve the problem of gender as a monarch.

“he put the blame on the whole of the convent rather than on the wardens of the shrine for their greed and carelessness.” (p.96-97).

“he himself first set and example of generosity and in front of us all contributed his entire gold treasure-fifteen gold rings, probably worth 60 marks- for the restoration of the shrine.” (P. 97)

This part of the story, when part of the St. Edmunds shrine burns down, is where you see Samson realize the error of his ways and how greedy he has become since taking the job of Abbot. He says that the shrine burned down because of retribution from God for all of their sins, and he states specifically the sins of all in the convent and not just his own. He then immediately proceeds to put most of his riches up so they can pay for repairs as a sudden act of pennance. Samson’s actions make me wonder if he knew all along that he was being greedy, or if up until this point he believed he was working for the betterment of the church instead of for personal gain.

“for each of the three nights they camped there he killed a hundred men, picking them off with his sling.”

I find it very interesting about Irish culture of this time that men would give their lives in service to a person like Medb, all over a prize bull. It seems very strange to me that they would accept seeing themselves and their former soldiers killed by Cu Chulain. For violence to be so prevalent in their society that many would go to war just for petty reasons such as these, and  it really just goes to show how important the warrior aristocracy was to people.