Jan Tregeagle was a
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
in the early 17th century, a steward under the
Duchy of Cornwall, and was known for being particularly harsh; darker stories circulated as well, that he had murdered his wife or made a
pact with the Devil
A deal with the Devil (also called a Faustian bargain or Mephistophelian bargain) is a cultural motif exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, as well as being elemental to many Christian traditions. According to t ...
. As a lawyer, he was a peculiarly evil agent, and very hard upon the tenants.
Many legends have grown up around him, and he has evolved into Cornwall's version of
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
, having bargained his soul for power, fame and success. One story goes that sometime after his death, a case was going through the courts in which the defendant had illegally obtained some land. The defendant, sure that the dead Tregeagle could not testify against him, cried, "If Tregeagle ever saw it, I wish to God he would come and declare it!" To the court's astonishment, Tregeagle materialised in the witness box and testified that he had forged some crucial document or other. Justice having been done, the court would not countenance sending him back to
Hell, and so set him a series of impossible tasks to while away the time until
Judgment Day. He was set the task of dipping the water out of
Dozmary Pool
Dozmary Pool is a small lake, in the civil parish of Altarnun on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, UK. It is situated from the sea and lies about north-east of Bodmin and south of Bolventor. It originated in the post-glacial period. The outflow fro ...
with a limpet shell, but decided to escape to
Roche Rock before being set another task, weaving ropes from the sand of Gwenor Cove.
Tregeagle's dismal fate inspired "The Ballad of the Haunted Moor," in which "the soul Tregeagle, a deathless soul/Flies from the Pool with a shriek, a shriek!"
References
External links
Baring-Gould, Sabine. ''Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe''. Project Gutenberg.*
ttp://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/england/cornwall/legends/jan-tregeagle.html Jan Tregeagle: Mysterious Britain & Irelandbr>
The tasks of Jan Tregeagle's ghost
Cornish folklore
English ghosts
People from Cornwall
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