Depth study 1) the Witchcraze in Southern Germany c.1590-1630

Debate 1: popular culture and context of the witchcraze in southern Germany. Debate 2: the reasons for the witchcraze in Southern Germany. Debate 3: the geography and nature of witchcraft in Southern Germany. Debate 4: the response of the authorities to witchcraft and its impact on society

what percent of all witchcraft prosecutions took place in Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands?

75%

the most intense persecutions took place in the bishoprics of _ and _ in the south, while significant persecutions still took place in the western electorates of _ and _

bamburg & wurzburg

cologne & trier

there were over _ independant jurisdictions within the HRE

2,000

which king supplied the carolina and in what year?

Charles V

1532

why was the carolina rarely enforced

* no **itinerant judges** (travelling judge) to enforce it
* no **system of appeals** to the Imperial Supreme Court at Speyer
* local courts required to consult with the law faculty of **local unis** in witchcraft cases - the literature on demonological theory was foten produced here, meaning this actually encouraged witch-hunting

Peace of Augsburg - dates and what it did

1584

catholic Charles V gained victory over the protestant states

decreed that the religion of a ruler should be the religion of a region

3 main points why witch-hunts were especially intense in Germany

* political and judicial **authority** was fragmented
* germany was the epicentre of the **reformation** and **counter-reformation** so many feared the devil’s work
* limited and **ambiguous legal framewor**k which contained little guidance on how to prosecute witches

emperor charles V had a victory over the protestant princes at which battle? date?

battle of Muhlberg

1548

(should have settled the religious divisions but didn’t)

protestants believed that saints were _ so wanted their festivals abolished

successors to pagan gods

catholic reforms brought in during the counter-reformation after 1545 (5)

* religious ceremonies such as weddings were reformed to emphasise their spiritual element


* the feast of fools, which attacked the church hierarchy, was ended
* dances and fairs were not allowed in church grounds
* the laity were not allowed to dress up like members of the clergy
* catholic clergy was not allowed to take part in popular festivals

most festivals were _, and the catholic church did not abandon its usual _

reformed rather than abolished

visual or spectacle

in the seconad half of the 16th cent the cath church began to _. this campaign was led by the _

regain territory and followers

prince-bishops, often helped by jesuits (fiercely anti-protestant group)

edmund burke view on popular culture changing

resulted in society’s elites abandoning much of the traditional cultures they had previously shared with the commoners (e.g would all be invited to a big feast)

a gulf opened between the nobility, clergy, middle class, and everyone else

the clergy were no longer _ but were _

men from the same social background as the peasantry

more educated and remote from their parishioners

south germany became the centre for witchcraft prosectuins in the _ - in particular, most prosecutions took place in areas ruled by prince-bishops. why?

late 16th century

* political and judicial authority was fragmented, allowing panics to develop
* the development of the ref and counter-ref
* the carolina law code of 1532 stated that justice was a local matter

prince-bishops (PBs) took the lead in the counter-reformation from _ onwards, which aimed to _

1545

gain territory and lands lost to protestantism

the PBs and the counter-ref gained momentum from

the newly-established jesuit order of priests - founded in **1534** by Ignatius Loyla and designed to spread catholicism across the world (sometimes called ‘god’s soldiers’)

jesuit orders were set up in cities like Munich. what was the message from their clergy? what did this mean for protestant belief?

fiercely anti-protestant

meant protestants believed catholics were in league with the devil and that the pope was the anti-christ

in what town is there a ceiling painting showing the victory of catholicism over protestant heretics (with women chained in purgatory, clearly depicted as witches)?

Ziel in Bamberg

in the lutheran town of _ the parishoners of the local church refused to renounce their faith - why?

marktazeuln

there were small but significant numbers of protestants

von aschausen dates

1609-22 (bamberg)

what restrictions did von aschausen impose on protestants? (5)

* **fines** imposed on parishes that remained prot
* **supplies of wood** to prot parishes was restricted
* **catholic troops** stationed in prot villiages, and the villagers had to provide the with food and lodging
* dissedents sent into **exile**
* lutherans often rounded up and **executed**

how many suspected witches did aschausen have executed?

an estimated 300 (102 in 1617 alone)

who created a special prison for unco-operative priests? what was it called?

von aschausen

the Priests’ vaults

who initiated the first anti-protestant persecutions in Bamberg? when and why?

aschausen’s predecessor, Neytard von Thungen

1595

Margerethe Pemmerin admitted to being a witch and worshipping the devil for 10 years - she was sentenced to be burned at the stake, but a last-minate reprieve allowed for death by sword instead (seen as a lot less brutal)

von aschausen issued a ew ordinance against witchraft in _, saying what? (bear in mind this coincided with the outbreak of prot rebellions in nearby Bohemia)

1610

anyone practicising magic would be severely punished - he warned that sorcerors and fortune-tellers were at large in Bamberg

a bishop’s visitation report of 1611 about bamberg reported what?

blasphemous practices were still being carried out in bamberg, such as fortune-telling and casting spells (prot preachers were found in the same regions)

Lena Pantzerin

accused in 1612

no-one seemed to know how to examine a witch, so an outsider was called in

this led to a number of other accusations and executions, reaching a peak between 1616-19

why was there a (short-lived) drop in accusations after 1619?

a group of moderated on the local council argued that the PB should be more concerned with the outbreak of war in neighbouring Bohemia

30 years’ war dates

1618-48

the 30 years’ war was caused by…

the attempt of the roman catholic emperors to reclaim lost power, territory, and influence - since 1517 emperors had lost land and influence within the empire, mainly to prot rulers

when and what was the defenestration of prague

may 1618

protestant rulers of prague rebelled against an attempt by Ferdinand, catholic king of bohemia, to enforce catholicism

they did so by throwing 3 of ferdinand’s envoys from a window

the protestants of bohemia then raised armies in support of Frederick V, the son-in-law of James I

what does historian Trevor-Roper argue about the link between witchcraft prosecutions and the arrival of the 30 years’ war?

witchcraft prosecutions increased dramatically during times of war - e.g. catholic reconquest of Germany in 1620s

after France joijned the 30 years’ war in _. it became more of a continuation of which previous wars?

1635

the century-old Hapsburg-French wars which had dominated the 16th century

the presence of large number of troops in Bamberg and other areas coincided with crop faliures (and general fear and resentment) - why?

soldiers took food and supplies, and forcibly conscripted young men and boys

they also exacted tribute from locals ( a payment as acknowledgement of submission) which led to massive inflation

examples of those who deviated from traditional catholic practices and were laballed as heretics because of it (4)

* women whose **sexual beliefs** deviated away from that expected by the cath church (stemmed from the protestant belief that priests need not lead lives of celibacy)
* people whose **political beliefs** ran counter to those of the catholic authorities
* people who had an existing **reputation for sorcery**, healing, fortune-telling etc
* members of the **upper-class** - under von dornheim a law was passed that allowed the confiscation of a witches’ property

wife of Lorentz Kempfen Seebaur

tried in 1629

accused of suggeswting a frost might damage the fruit harvest - recent freezing conditions were mentioned in the trial

Katharina Merckhlerin

1626

admitted to plotting to freeze and destroy all Bamberg’s crops

witch trials peaked in Bamberg in what year

1629

which year was ‘the year with no summer’

1628

petition to remove mayor of Ziel resulted in…

resulted in the mayor, Hans Langhans’ execution in 1628

the gold content of florins reduced from _ in the early 15th cent to _ in 1626

79%

77%

who attributed the hunt to inflation in her memoirs?

Maria anna Junius, daughter of John Junius

Margaretha Eissmennin

admitted to turning to the devil as a result of the reduction in value of coinage due to extensive coin-clipping

Kunigudta Rindterin

entered into a relationship with a rich man to avoid poverty - this was seen as a pact with the devil

in _, where governments had a much stronger grip on the lower criminal courts, there were no witch-hunts

Bavaria and Austria

_ actually provided a refuge for many suspects

Prague and Vienna (both important centres for the counter-reformation)

9 catholic prince-bishops were responsible for over _ deaths

6,000

was north or south germany more politically fragmented? give examples

south - more micro-states such as Wurzburg, Bamberg, Eichstatt, Wurttemberg, and Ellwangen (all prince-bishoprics)

robin Briggs quote

the hunts were only possible in “a very special political and legal context”

women made up what percent of those brought to trial in Bamberg from 1623 to 1631, compared to what percent in the first wave of 1616-22

72% in 23-31

81% in 16-22

after a few isolatd trials, mass trials took place from _ onwards

1626

according to contemporary records, at least how many individuals were brought to trial between 1623-31? how many were released or escaped?

642

45

how many older women did Ziel send for execution? how many were identified as ‘wise-women’?

7

2

recorded case of a nine-year-old boy being tried - what did he confess to? what was he also accused of?

having an encounter with a demon called george who appeared to him with horns and goat feet

various acts of maleficium, including destroying crops, stealing wine, and causing livestock to be killed by freezing conditions

Dr George Haan

vice-chancellor of Bamberg

him, his wife, and his children were all burned

John Junius

lord mayor of bamberg

implicated by Haan

tortured to confess and named relatives and friens as witches, who were then executed (i think 30 of them)

brutal forms of torture - was able to smuggle out letters to his daughter which gives us a clear indication of the importance of torture in his eventual confession

why were high-status individuals targeted? summary

* political and social revenge
* confiscate their possessions
* because they acted leniently towards others accused of witchcraft
* implicated by others - often from the same family

Frau Anna Hansen

arrested on suspicion of witchcraft on June 17th 1629, and was beheaded on July 7th

what was the ‘Malefiz house’

a witch-prison built on the orders of Dornheim, where totrue was carried out

a schedule of questions were drawn up to be used during investigations - how many in bamberg

101 (varied place to place i think)

von dornheim dates of rule

1623-1633

edict of restitution & how dornheim used it to justify his actions

written by emperor Ferdinand II in 1629

called for the conversion of protestants

frederick Forner

vicar-general of Bamberg and Dornheim’s legal advisor

big in counter-ref

Dr Ernst Vsasolt

chief interrogator

summary of why the witchcraze came to an end (4)

* opposition from **Emperor ferdinand II**
* key persecutors die - **bishop** **Forner** of Bamberg died in **1630** and the **bishop of Wurzburg** in **1631**
* **Gustavus II** of Sweden occupied Bamberg in **1630**, forcing Dornheim to flee - he later dies in **1633**
* **scepticism** coming from within Bamberg itself

Dorothea Flock

arrested 1630

husband Georg Heinrich Flock appealed emperor Ferdinand

when Dornheim heard about these letters he had Dorothea secretly executed at 6am on 17th May 1630

Georg Willhelm Dumler

wrote to emperor Ferdinand in 1631 to convince him he needed to act regarding Bamberg - pointed out many flaws such as a lawyer being denied at the Bamberg trials even though the Carolina permitted one