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'''Sibella Cottle''' was the mistress of [[Sir Henry Lynch-Blosse, 7th Baronet]] of [[Balla]], [[County Mayo]], Ireland, popularly known as Sir Harry. His family conformed to Protestantism in the mid-18th century<ref>McNulty, Paul, ‘The genealogy of the Anglo-Norman Lynches who settled in Galway’, ''Journal of the [[Galway Archaeological and Historical Society]]'', 2010 (in press); Eileen O'Byrne, editor, ''The convert rolls'', IMC, Dublin, 1981, p 16.</ref>. Sibella had seven children by him each of whom was left a generous legacy in their father's will of 1788<ref>Nicholls, K W, ‘The Lynch Blosse Papers’, ''Analecta Hibernica,'' 1980, volume 28, pages 113-219.</ref>. |
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'''Sibella Cottle''' was the [[Mistress (lover)|mistress]] of [[Sir Henry Lynch-Blosse, 7th Baronet]] (popularly known as Sir Harry; 1749–88) of [[Balla, County Mayo|Balla]], [[County Mayo]], Ireland. |
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== Biography == |
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[[Lynch-Blosse baronets|His family]] conformed to [[Protestantism in Ireland|Protestantism]] in the mid-18th century.<ref>McNulty, Paul, "The genealogy of the Anglo-Norman Lynches who settled in Galway", ''Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society'', 2010, volume 62, pages 30-50, http://www.gahs.info/index.php/en/journal/21-journal1#62</ref><ref>McNulty, Paul B,''Genealogy of the Anglo-Norman Lynches: who settled in Galway'', CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013, 162 pages, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Genealogy-Anglo-Norman-Lynches-settled-Galway/dp/1492810592/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402920530&sr=1-3&keywords=paul+b+mcnulty</ref><ref>O'Byrne, Eileen, editor, ''The convert rolls'', [[Irish Manuscripts Commission]], Dublin, 1981, p. 16.</ref> She had seven children by him, each of whom was left a generous legacy in their father's [[Will (law)|will]] of 1788.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/25511960?seq=4 The Lynch-Blosse Papers] Nicholls, K. W., ''[[Analecta Hibernica]],'' 1980, volume 28, pages 113-219.</ref> |
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Dalsimer, Adele, [http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v8/f17/dalsimer.html] ''‘The Spancel of Death: A Play by T H Nally,’'' Irish Studies, New York, 1983, 21 pages (available [[National Library of Ireland]]).</ref>. |
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| ⚫ | Cottle was portrayed by Matthew Archdeacon as uneducated and a "professed [[Prostitute|woman of pleasure]]."<ref>Archdeacon, Matthew, {{Google books|gXEVAAAAYAAJ|Legends of Connaught|page=84}}, Dublin, 1839, 406 pages (available [[National Library of Ireland]])</ref> T. H. Nally maintained she was not a peasant but joined Sir Harry as a [[governess]] from a local [[Great house|Big House]].<ref>[http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000181584 Thomas H. Nally papers] Collection List No. 104, Ms 36,213, item 4, Letter to [[William Butler Yeats]], 9 January 1916, National Library of Ireland, [http://www.nli.ie/pdfs/mss%20lists/104_Nally.pdf]</ref><ref>[http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v8/f17/dalsimer.html Dalsimer, Adele], "The Spancel of Death: a play by T. H. Nally", Irish Studies, New York, 1983, 21 pages, http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000082328</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Sir Harry was urged to |
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Whether the spancel was ever used is not known. What we do know is that Sir Harry, who died young in 1788, remained faithful to Sibella and their seven children. Her fate and that of her children is explored in a work of historical fiction in preparation by Paul McNulty of Ireland. The novel is provisionally entitled ''Spellbound: The Story of Sir Harry and Sibella''. |
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| ⚫ | Sir Harry was urged to abandon Cottle and marry a woman of his own class and religion. Cottle reputedly responded by commissioning a powerful love charm, the spancel of death ({{langx|ga|an buarach bháis}}). The spancel has been described as "an unbroken hoop of skin cut with incantations from a corpse across the entire body from shoulder to footsole and wrapped in silk of the colours of the rainbow and used as a spancel to tie the legs of a person to produce certain effects of [[witchcraft]]."<ref>[[Alf MacLochlainn|MacLochlainn, Alf]], "[[Patrick S. Dinneen|Father Dinneen]] and His Dictionary", ''An Irish Quarterly Review'', Vol. 91, No. 361 (Spring, 2002), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/30095870?seq=7 page 74]</ref> According to Nally, the love charm was made by Judy Holian, ''an bhean feasa'' (a [[Cunning folk|woman of knowledge and wisdom]]), from the corpse of Harry's illegitimate daughter by another woman. Holian, reputedly a local witch, guaranteed that Sir Harry would be spellbound for life should Cottle apply the spancel to him.<ref>McNulty, Paul B, ''Spellbound by Sibella'', 2013, Club Lighthouse CLP, http://www.clublighthousepublishing.com/productpage.asp?bNumb=342, Edmonton, Alberta, 2013, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spellbound-Sibella-Paul-B-McNulty/dp/1492195219/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402997700&sr=1-3&keywords=paul+b+mcnulty.</ref> |
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==References== |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottle, Sibella}} |
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[[Category:18th-century Irish people]] |
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[[Category:18th-century Irish women]] |
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[[Category:People from County Mayo]] |
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Latest revision as of 05:26, 6 November 2024
Sibella Cottle was the mistress of Sir Henry Lynch-Blosse, 7th Baronet (popularly known as Sir Harry; 1749–88) of Balla, County Mayo, Ireland.
Biography
[edit]His family conformed to Protestantism in the mid-18th century.[1][2][3] She had seven children by him, each of whom was left a generous legacy in their father's will of 1788.[4]
Cottle was portrayed by Matthew Archdeacon as uneducated and a "professed woman of pleasure."[5] T. H. Nally maintained she was not a peasant but joined Sir Harry as a governess from a local Big House.[6][7]
Sir Harry was urged to abandon Cottle and marry a woman of his own class and religion. Cottle reputedly responded by commissioning a powerful love charm, the spancel of death (Irish: an buarach bháis). The spancel has been described as "an unbroken hoop of skin cut with incantations from a corpse across the entire body from shoulder to footsole and wrapped in silk of the colours of the rainbow and used as a spancel to tie the legs of a person to produce certain effects of witchcraft."[8] According to Nally, the love charm was made by Judy Holian, an bhean feasa (a woman of knowledge and wisdom), from the corpse of Harry's illegitimate daughter by another woman. Holian, reputedly a local witch, guaranteed that Sir Harry would be spellbound for life should Cottle apply the spancel to him.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ McNulty, Paul, "The genealogy of the Anglo-Norman Lynches who settled in Galway", Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, 2010, volume 62, pages 30-50, http://www.gahs.info/index.php/en/journal/21-journal1#62
- ^ McNulty, Paul B,Genealogy of the Anglo-Norman Lynches: who settled in Galway, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013, 162 pages, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Genealogy-Anglo-Norman-Lynches-settled-Galway/dp/1492810592/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402920530&sr=1-3&keywords=paul+b+mcnulty
- ^ O'Byrne, Eileen, editor, The convert rolls, Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 1981, p. 16.
- ^ The Lynch-Blosse Papers Nicholls, K. W., Analecta Hibernica, 1980, volume 28, pages 113-219.
- ^ Archdeacon, Matthew, Legends of Connaught, p. 84, at Google Books, Dublin, 1839, 406 pages (available National Library of Ireland)
- ^ Thomas H. Nally papers Collection List No. 104, Ms 36,213, item 4, Letter to William Butler Yeats, 9 January 1916, National Library of Ireland, [1]
- ^ Dalsimer, Adele, "The Spancel of Death: a play by T. H. Nally", Irish Studies, New York, 1983, 21 pages, http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000082328
- ^ MacLochlainn, Alf, "Father Dinneen and His Dictionary", An Irish Quarterly Review, Vol. 91, No. 361 (Spring, 2002), page 74
- ^ McNulty, Paul B, Spellbound by Sibella, 2013, Club Lighthouse CLP, http://www.clublighthousepublishing.com/productpage.asp?bNumb=342, Edmonton, Alberta, 2013, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spellbound-Sibella-Paul-B-McNulty/dp/1492195219/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402997700&sr=1-3&keywords=paul+b+mcnulty.