Margaret Ford

Often claimed to be a representation of a band of female magicians, this cannot however shew Mistress Ford and her friends; for the elegant style of dress clearly belongs to a much later date than the 12th. century. These ladies are in fact fanciful personifications of the liberal arts.

According to a folk tale, ss'The losing of the Master of Nottingham's ring', Margaret Ford was a 12th century woman who found the Master of Nottingham's ring and used it maliciously. In the legend she is termagant wife to John Ford, who holds the manor of Fiskerton.

According to Jonathan Strange however the tale was a mere distortion of historical truth. He believed that in reality Margaret Ford was one of a fellowship of female magicians flourishing in Nottinghamshire in the 12th century. These ladies attracted the enmity of the Master of Nottingham, who perhaps resented their intrusion into the world of magical scholarship, although his own daughter was one of their number. At any rate, he drove them at last from the protection of their husbands and brothers to live in the woods, until they finally sought succour from the Aureate Thomas Godbless[25].