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Brown-bound 'Hermione Granger' may have a good-witch ancestor

8:28 PM Mon, Aug 03, 2009 |
By Sheila Lennon    Email this author |   Email this entry

emma_watson2.jpg
AP
Actors Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson attend the movie premiere of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in New York on July 9. He plays the title role; she's fellow student and Harry's friend Hermione Granger at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


Emma Watson, star of Harry Potter films, is related to 16th century witch . Telegraph (UK).

The 19-year old who has made more than £18 million from playing Hermione Granger in the wizard franchise, is a cousin 14 generations removed from Joan Playle

Her distant relation, from Great Waltham in Essex, was one of only 270 known people tried of witchcraft during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

But rather than be burned at the stake, it appears Miss Playle was merely excommunicated from the Church of England.

Although details of Miss Playle's conviction remain unclear, it would appear she was unmarried. Those generally accused of being witches in the 16th century were either old, poor, unprotected, or singler or widowed women.

First thought: Since she was merely excommunicated, she may have been an uppity Good Witch.

Emma Watson is due to start Brown University next month. Providence has let John F. Kennedy Jr. and scores of celebrity kids such as Beatle George Harrison's son Dhani live peacefully on the East Side. She'll probably melt into the crowd here.

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1 Comments

Bad Witch said:

It was very rare for those convicted of witchcraft to be burnt at the stake in England. If they were executed, it was usually by hanging, Often they got off with a much lighter sentence though.

And, as the article states, most of those accused of witchcraft were probably not witches. They were more likely to be women who were unpopular for some reason or other.

Link | August 4, 2009 6:14 AM
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