John of Nottingham

John of Nottingham was a 14th-century magician, said to have plotted to kill Edward II of England and Hugh Despenser the Younger in 1324 through witchcraft.

By 1324, Edward II was ruling England with his royal favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger in an increasingly despotic manner.

[3] In November 1323, they had approached John of Nottingham, a famous magician based in Coventry, to request his assistance in killing the King, Hugh Despenser and his father, along with the prior, using magic.

[2] Using seven pounds of wax and two yards of cloth, John allegedly made effigies of the four main targets, the prior's unpopular caterer and his steward, along with one of Richard de Lowe, a local man on whom the magic was to be first tested.

[7] The Pope, who was not favourably inclined towards the Despensers, curtly advised him to "turn to God with his whole heart and make a good confession and such satisfaction as shall be enjoined.

A circular medieval miniature, showing a man in blue robes, with long flowing hair and a short beard.
John of Nottingham was said to have been hired to kill the unpopular Edward II , shown here in a contemporary picture, and several of the king's key supporters with magic .