He had a reputation for riotous living and violence, as reflected in an anecdote which claimed that, during a quarrel in an alehouse with a schoolmaster called Freckingham, Hacket bit off and ate his opponent's nose.
[5] Travelling to York, Hacket announced that he was sent there by God to prepare the way for the Messiah, only to be "well whipped" and banished from the city; he received a similar reception in Leicester.
Wigginton introduced him to Edmund Coppinger, who held a minor post in the royal household, and had declared that he had been moved by God to warn the queen to reform herself, her family, the commonwealth, and church.
Coppinger soon convinced himself and a friend, Henry Arthington, a Yorkshire gentleman, that Hacket had an "extraordinary calling", and had in fact come from heaven, after anointment by the Holy Ghost, to inaugurate a new era on earth.
People came to his lodgings to hear his prayers, prophecies and "ohes, loud sighes and groninges"; Member of Parliament Job Throckmorton compared his utterings to a "wildgoose chase" with "neither head nor foote, rime nor reason".
They also spoke of other ministers of state to be removed from office and replaced by associates of the conspirators, among whom were mentioned William Davison and other persons reputed to be of puritan predilections.
Of his fellow conspirators, Coppinger starved himself to death in Bridewell, though Arthington, claiming that he had been the victim of witchcraft, and giving a penitent apology, was released in the following year.
[10] Civil disorder and popular uprisings were a real threat in this period due to harsh economic conditions, social divisions, corruption and political intrigues.
In 1596, Cartwright, having already incurred the Government's displeasure, and been imprisoned for another matter, issued a written defence of his actions in answer to scurrilous accusations concerning the Hacket rebellion.