Editing Mother Shipton (section)

== Personal life ==
Mother Shipton was born Ursula Southeil or Sonthiel, in 1486 or 1488 (though some sources claim she was born as early as 1448)<ref name=Greewood2006 />to 15-year-old Agatha Soothtale, allegedly in a cave outside the town of [[Knaresborough]] in [[North Yorkshire]]. The earliest sources of the legends of her birth and life were collected in 1667<ref name=":0">Head, Richard. ''The Life and Death of Mother Shipton: Giving a Wonderful Account of Her Strange and Monstrous Birth, Life, Actions and Death: with the Correspondence She Had with an Evil Spirit ..: with All Her Prophecies That Have Come to Pass, from the Reign of Henry VII ... to This Present Year 1694 ...: with Divers Not Yet Come to Pass ...: with the Explanation of Each Prophecy and Prediction.'' London: Printed for J. Back ..., 1667.</ref> by author and biographer [[Richard Head]] and later by J. Conyers in 1686.<ref name=":1">''The Strange and Wonderful History of Mother Shipton Plainly Setting Forth Her Prodigious Birth, Life, Death, and Burial, with an Exact Collection of All Her Famous Prophecys, More Compleat than Ever Yet before Published, and Large Explanations, Shewing How They Have All along Been Fulfilled to This Very Year.'' London: Printed for W.H. and sold by J. Conyers, 1686.</ref>

Both sources—1667 and 1686—state that Shipton was born during a violent thunderstorm, and was deformed and ugly, born with a hunchback and bulging eyes. The sources also state that Shipton cackled instead of crying after having been born, and as she did so, the previously raging storms ceased.<ref name=":1"/>

The sources report Ursula's mother Agatha as a poor and desolate 15-year-old orphan, left with no means to support herself; having fallen under the influences of the [[Devil]], Agatha engaged in an affair, resulting in the birth of Ursula.<ref name=":0"/> Variations of this legend claim Agatha herself was a witch and summoned the Devil to conceive a child.

The true origin of Ursula's father is unknown, with Agatha refusing to reveal him; at one point, Agatha was forcibly brought before the local [[magistrate]], but still refused to disclose his identity.<ref name=":4">"The Story". Mother Shipton's Cave. Accessed 21 October 2020. https://www.mothershipton.co.uk/the-story/ .</ref> The scandalous nature of Agatha's life and Ursula's birth meant the two were ostracised from society and forced to live alone, in the same [[Mother Shipton's Cave|cave]] Ursula was born, for the first two years of Ursula's life.<ref name=":2">What'sHerName, Dr. Katie Nelson, and Olivia Meikle. "THE WITCH Mother Shipton". What'shername, 10 February 2020. https://www.whatshernamepodcast.com/mother-shipton/</ref> Rumours that Agatha was a witch and Ursula the spawn of Satan were perpetuated, due to the cave's well-known skull-shaped pool, which turned things to stone.<ref>"England's Oldest Tourist Attraction". Mother Shipton's Cave. Accessed 10 October 2020. https://www.mothershipton.co.uk/</ref> The cave is known today as [[Mother Shipton's Cave]]; though the effects of the cave's pool are not those of [[Petrifaction|true petrification]], they closely resemble the process by which [[stalactite]]s are formed, coating objects left in the cave with layers of minerals, and in essence hardening porous objects until they become hard and stone-like.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=AJ38l6DX4f8&feature=youtu.be  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/AJ38l6DX4f8| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=England's Oldest Attraction Turns Teddy Bears To Stone |publisher=[[Tom Scott (entertainer)]] |website=youtube.com |date=26 April 2021 |access-date=8 June 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

According to 17th-century sources, after two years living alone in the [[Forest of Knaresborough]], the [[abbot]] of [[Beverley]] intervened. The abbot removed them from the cave and secured Agatha a place in the Convent of the order of St. Bridget<ref name=":1"/> in [[Nottinghamshire]],<ref name=":2"/> and Ursula a foster family in Knaresborough. Agatha and Ursula would never see each other again.

Developed from contemporary descriptions and depictions of her, it is likely Ursula had a large crooked nose and suffered from a hunchback and crooked legs. Physical differences acted as a visual reminder of the secretive events of her birth and the townspeople never forgot. She found acceptance with her foster family and a few friends, but Ursula was ultimately ostracised from the larger portion of people in town. She found sanctuary in the woods like her mother had and spent most of her childhood learning of plants and herbs and their medicinal properties.<ref>"The Story". Mother Shipton's Cave. Accessed 21 October 2020. https://www.mothershipton.co.uk/the-story/</ref>

=== Legends of her childhood ===
It was claimed that when Ursula was two years old, she was left alone at home while her foster mother left to run errands. Her mother returned to find the front door wide open. Afraid of what might still be in the house, she called to her neighbours for assistance, and the group heard a loud wailing, like "a thousand cats in consort"<ref name=":1"/> throughout the house. Ursula's cradle was found empty. After a frantic search throughout the house, her mother looked up to see Ursula naked and cackling, perched on top of the iron bar where the pot hooks were fastened above the fireplace.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":2"/>

The source dating to 1686<ref name=":1"/> tells of an event where the chief members of the [[parish]] were gathered together in a meeting. Ursula walked past the group running an errand for her mother, and the men stopped to mock her, calling out "hag face" and "The Devil's bastard".<ref name=":1"/> Ursula kept walking to continue her errands but as the men sat back down, the [[Ruff (clothing)|ruff]] on the neck of one of the principal yeomen transformed and a toilet seat clapped down around his neck. The man next to him began to laugh, and as he did the hat he was wearing was suddenly replaced with a chamber pot. The gathered members of the parish began to laugh loudly enough that the Master of the house came running to see what was happening; when he tried to run through the door, he found himself blocked by a large pair of horns that had grown suddenly from his head. The source reports that the strange occurrences reverted to normal shortly afterwards, and that the townspeople took them as a sign not to publicly mock Ursula.

=== Adulthood ===
[[File:Mother Shipton.jpg|right|thumb|An engraving of Ursula Southheil (Mother Shipton) from the title page of 1686 book ''The Strange and Wonderful World of Mother Shipton'']]

As Ursula grew so did her knowledge of plants and herbs and she became an invaluable resource for the townspeople as a [[herbalist]]. The respect she earned from her work gave her the opportunity to expand her social circle and it was then she met the local carpenter<ref name=":1"/> Toby Shipton.<ref name=":3">Simon, Dr. Ed. "Divining the Witch of York: Propaganda and Prophecy – 'Mother Shipton' in Medieval England". Brewminate, 22 August 2019. https://brewminate.com/divining-the-witch-of-york-propaganda-and-prophecy-mother-shipton-in-medieval-england/ .</ref>

When Ursula was 24 years old she and Toby Shipton were married.<ref name=":3"/> From this point on Ursula adopted her husband's surname and became Mother Shipton. The people in town were shocked at their union and whispered of how he must have been bewitched to marry her.

About a month into her marriage a neighbour came to the door and asked for her help, saying she had left her door open and a thief had come in and stole a new smock and petticoat. Without hesitation Mother Shipton calmed her neighbour and said she knew exactly who stole the clothing and would retrieve it the next day. The next morning Mother Shipton and her neighbour went to the [[market cross]]. The woman who had stolen the clothing couldn't stop herself from putting the smock on over her clothes, the petticoat in her hand, and marching through town. When she arrived at the market cross she began dancing and danced straight for Mother Shipton and her neighbour all the while singing "I stole my Neighbours Smock and Coat, I am a Thief, and here I show't." When she reached Mother Shipton she took off the smock, handed it over, curtsied and left.<ref name=":1"/>

Two years later, in 1514, Toby Shipton died, and the town believed Ursula to have been responsible for his death. The grief of losing her husband and the harsh words of the town prompted Ursula Shipton to move into the woods, and the same cave she had been born in, for peace. Here she continued to create potions and herbal remedies for people. Mother Shipton's name slowly became more and more well known, and people would travel great distances to see her and receive potions and spells.

As her popularity grew she grew bolder and revealed she could see the future. She started by making small prophecies involving her town and the people within, and as her prophecies came true she began telling prophecies of the monarchy and the future of the world. In 1537 King [[Henry VIII]] wrote a letter to the Duke of Norfolk where he mentions a "witch of York",<ref name=":3"/> believed by some to be a reference to Shipton.