Cunning Folk and the Recovery of Stolen Goods

People described as cunning folk were sometimes consulted when property went missing. Historical accounts describe attempts to identify a suspected thief or recover an object through divination, charms and other specialised practices.

Such consultations tell us about uncertainty, reputation and local systems of trust. A report that a practitioner offered a method does not establish that the method worked, nor does it mean that all cunning folk used the same techniques.

Record type: Practice. Evidence: early modern accounts and later historical scholarship. Source trail: Owen Davies, Cunning-Folk: Popular Magic in English History.