EXACERBATING FACTOR: The political and legal structure and context of the Holy Roman Empire

How did the structure of the Holy Roman Empire encourage witch hunting?

• The HRE was made up of a loose confederation of political entities - in theory the emperor ruled all but there was loose control

• This enabled localised hunting led by leaders of local authorities

How did legal context contribute to witch hunting?

• Bamberg should follow the Carolina code (torture can be used if there are grounds for suspicion, people should be questioned about where they learned witchcraft from)

• However, the code was rarely enforced as there were no itinerant judges and it was hard to refer cases to the imperial court

How did the structure of the Holy Roman Empire encourage witch hunting?

• The HRE was made up of a loose confederation of political entities - in theory the emperor ruled all but there was loose control

• This enabled localised hunting led by leaders of local authorities

How did legal context contribute to witch hunting?

• Bamberg should follow the Carolina code (torture can be used if there are grounds for suspicion, people should be questioned about where they learned witchcraft from)

• However, the code was rarely enforced as there were no itinerant judges and it was hard to refer cases to the imperial court

Law regarding witches’ property

• The law in Bamberg allowed for the confiscation of witches’ property, this encouraged persecution of upper-class suspects

Prince-Bishops

• Both a secular and religious position

• Due to the power held by prince-bishops, and their religious interests, areas ruled by prince-bishops suffered greater witchcraft persecutions