Petronilla de Meath

Petronilla de Midia (of Meath) (c. 1300 – 3 November 1324) was an alleged follower of Dame Alice Kyteler, a wealthy woman of Flemish ancestry who lived in the English colony of Ireland in what is now County Kilkenny. After the death of Kyteler's fourth husband, Kyteler was accused of practicing witchcraft and Petronilla was charged with being one of her accomplices. Petronilla was tortured and forced to proclaim that she and Kyteler were guilty of witchcraft. Kyteler fled to save her life, and Petronilla was then flogged and eventually burnt at the stake on 3 November 1324,[1] in Kilkenny.[2][3] Hers was the first known case in Ireland or Great Britain of death by fire for the crime of heresy.

  1. ^ O'Connell, Jennifer. "Witchipedia: Ireland's most famous witches". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  2. ^ Wright, Thomas, ed. A Contemporary Narrative of the Proceedings Against Dame Alice Kyteler, Prosecuted for Sorcery in 1324, by Richard de Ledrede, Bishop of Ossory. London: The Camden Society, 1843.
  3. ^ Davidson, Sharon, and John O. Ward, trans. The Sorcery Trial of Alice Kyteler: A Contemporary Account (1324). Asheville, NC: Pegasus Press, 2004, ISBN 9781889818429