Notes on Witch Persecutions in Würzburg (1629) and Bamberg (1628)

The Persecutions at Würzburg (1629)

• Context and source

  • In the 1620s, Würzburg, a cathedral city, experienced a particularly intensive witch-hunt.
  • Contemporary account written in August 1629 by the Prince-Bishop's Chancellor in a letter to a friend; preserved in the Codex German of the municipal library in Munich.
  • Similar pattern to the persecutions at Trier (No. 24): victims included notables; terror appears all-pervasive.
  • Source: Burr, The Witch-Persecutions, pp. 28–29, with embedded notes.

• Scale and social reach of the persecution

  • The writer laments: there are still about 400 people in Würzburg, from high to low, of every rank and sex, even clerics, so strongly accused that they may be arrested at any hour.
  • Among the Prince-Bishop's people, some must be executed: clerics, electoral councillors and doctors, city officials, court assessors; several law students to be arrested.
  • The Prince-Bishop has over 40 students who are soon to be pastors; among them 13–14 are said to be witches.
  • A Dean and two others summoned have fled; the notary of the Church consistory, a learned man, was arrested and tortured.
  • A third of the city is described as involved; the richest, most attractive, most prominent clergy are already executed.
  • Youth and beauty are repeatedly mentioned: a maiden of 19 executed; she was widely regarded as modest and pure; she will be followed by several others from among the best and most attractive people.
  • There are reports of children as young as 3–4 years, said to have intercourse with the Devil; adults recount sons and daughters in their teens (e.g., children of 7, 10, 12, 14, and 15).
  • Nobles and high-ranking individuals are implicated; the author suggests many would be astonished by the disclosures, urging justice to be done.

• Extravagant accusations and apocalyptic imagery

  • The writer states that many are accused and executed for renouncing God and taking part in witch-dances, even though “nobody has ever else spoken a word” against them.
  • A psalm-like P.S. reveals a sensational claim: at a place called the Fraw-Rengberg, the Devil himself, with 8{,}000 followers, held an assembly and celebrated mass before them all, administering to the witches turnip-rinds and parings in place of the Holy Eucharist.
  • It is claimed that the witches vowed not to be enrolled in the Book of Life, but agreed to be inscribed by a notary; there is a search for the book.

• Rituals, symbols, and conspiratorial language

  • The described mass included the substitution of ordinary turnip parings for the Eucharist, a vivid example of religious inversion used to demonize the accused.
  • The idea of a Book of Life and its inscription by a notary signals a bureaucratic layer to the fear: the accused fear a permanent record of damnation.

• Key terms and places referenced

  • Witch-sabbaths, Haupts-moor (a site of witch-dances), Black Cross (location of a witch-dance), the electoral council-room, the castle, and the Georgthor are named as venues or settings for accusations and gatherings.
  • The letter text often shifts between intimate fear and sensational public ritual, illustrating how the confessional process fused private guilt with public spectacle.

• Overall significance

  • The Würzburg account underscores how witch-hunts could target a broad spectrum of society, including clerics, students, officials, and nobles, with mass fear driving public executions.
  • It highlights the role of fear, rumor, and apocalyptic framing in sustaining persecutions, as well as the interplay between church, state, and social networks in early modern Europe.

-

The Persecutions at Bamberg (1628)

• Context and primary source

  • The Bamberg archives hold the minutes of a famous witchcraft trial: Johannes Junius, Burgomaster of Bamberg.
  • The documents include a letter Junius smuggled to his daughter, revealing how official court documents can obscure the realities of torture and coercion and may reveal unheard voices in the histories of witchcraft.
  • Source: Burr, The Witch-Persecutions, pp. 23–28.

• Who was Junius and what was at stake

  • On Wednesday, June 28, 1628, Junius was examined without torture on the charge of witchcraft; he claimed innocence, insisted he had never renounced God, and requested a hearing of witnesses.
  • He was confronted with Haan (Dr. Georg Adam Haan) and other witnesses who allegedly claimed to have seen him at a witch-gathering; Junius denied these accusations. He was given time for reflection.
  • On Friday, June 30, 1628, after further examination without torture and with continued exhortations to confess, Junius remained silent. He was then subjected to torture: Thumb-screws, Leg-screws, Strappado, and other punishments designed to force a confession; a bluish mark on his right side (like a clover leaf) was found after torture, but he claimed no pain and no guilt.
  • The sequence emphasizes the mechanics of the judicial terror system: torture was used to compel confessions, and physical pain did not always produce truthful admissions.

• The tortures and their meanings

  • Thumb-screws: applied to his hands; Junius declared he would stake his life on not renouncing God.
  • Leg-screws: continued denial; Junius maintained innocence.
  • Strappado: he maintained his innocence, asserted that God would not forsake him, and claimed no guilt.
  • The physical examination recorded a blue mark and pricks but no blood, implying a ritualized display of alleged marks rather than a clear confession.
  • The tortures were used to pressurize admissions, with the torturers urging him to confess even if invented, to save him from further torments.

• The turning point: July 5, 1628 confession after persistence

  • After repeated pressure, Junius began to confess: in 1624, a law-suit cost him about 600 florins; while in his orchard, a woman appeared who seduced him and transformed into a goat (the goat form is a standard motif in witchcraft accusations).
  • The goat-figure demanded renunciation of God, threatening to break his neck; Junius renounced God and became baptized in the name of the Devil (the baptismal naming includes terms like Krix and Vixen for his demonic partner).
  • The confession describes a chain of events: the transformed spirit, the naming of Beelzebub, and their initiation of Junius into devil worship, including relationships with named accomplices.
  • The pair had a motive of money and continued to lead Junius to other witch-gatherings; a black dog appeared to fetch him to the sabbath, signaling the demonic mechanism drawing him in.
  • Two years prior to the confession, Junius had reportedly been taken to the electoral council-room, with several high-ranking figures present (Chancellor, Burgomaster Neydekher, Dr. Georg Haan) to confirm or refute his alleged acts.
  • The confession also contains a narrative of a woman who urged him to renounce God and the heavenly host and who insisted on secret, forbidden rites.

• The August 6, 1628 ratification and the torture cycle

  • On August 6, 1628, the confession was read and ratified; Junius agreed to stake his life on it and to confirm the confession before the court.
  • He describes the torture sequence in detail: stripped, shaved, bound, and drawn up in the air multiple times (Eight times) to induce agony; the executioner urged confession, promising continued punishment if he failed to admit guilt.
  • Junius narrates the experience of being forced to identify others during the torture, naming individuals he did not recognize, including the Chancellor on the market and various others along streets and bridges.
  • He recounts the attempt to compel him to name additional people who attended the Sabbath, culminating in the forced naming of Dietmayer and others in the market area; he claimed to have spoken under duress and to have given names under coercion, not from genuine knowledge.
  • He claims that the accounts he gave under torture were false and that the torturers know they were false, but he feared further torture if he did not comply.

• The content of Junius’s letter to his daughter (July 24, 1628)

  • Despite the allegations and torture, Junius writes a personal letter to his daughter, asserting his innocence and describing the coercive environment of his torture.
  • He declares that he is innocent, tortured, and will die; he states, “Innocent have I come into prison, innocent have I been tortured, innocent must I die.”
  • He explains that anyone who comes into the “witch prison” must either become a witch or be tortured into inventing something; he frames the confession as forced under extreme duress.
  • He recounts attempts to name people at the witch-sabbath, facing questions about who was present and where; he claims he could not identify many people and that the interrogators pressed him to implicate others by forcing him to move along streets and bridges, citing “the market-place” and “the Georgthor.”
  • He describes the torture sequence as a trial of pain culminating in the forced confession that was, in his view, a lie, compelled by fear and coercion.
  • He narrates the moment when a request for a priest is denied, and the pressure to confess continues; he explains that he wrote the confession to escape the great anguish of torture rather than to reveal truth.
  • He notes the presence and influence of his purported confessions by fellow suspects (e.g., the Chancellor, his son, Neudecker, Zaner, Hoffmaisters Ursel, Hoppfens Elsse) who had already confessed under coercion.
  • The margin note indicates that the last paragraph of the letter was added in the margin, corroborating that margin notes were part of the archival materials.

• The conclusion and broader implications

  • The immediate outcome of Junius’s trial was his execution by burning at the stake; the archival record emphasizes that the legal apparatus treated confessions as admissible evidence even when obtained under torture.
  • The mention of a separate, secretly written letter to his daughter highlights the human costs and the gap between official documents and private testimonies of fear, coercion, and suffering.
  • Burr’s editorial notes (e.g., [Burr's note] and [P. 256 = illus.], [Note about the margin paragraph]) indicate the layered interpretation and the footnoted context necessary to understand the source material.

• Key terms and places referenced

  • Beelzebub, Haupts-moor, Black Cross, the market-place, the Georgthor (gateway/bridge area), the electoral council-room, and the castle are invoked as spaces where events occurred or were alleged to occur.
  • “I renounce God in Heaven and his host, and will henceforward recognize the Devil as my God” reflects the kinds of confessional statements produced under duress.
  • The notes explain that some phrases (e.g., “Otherwise baptized”) represent a parody of baptism used by the Devil’s followers in these narratives.

• Ethical, philosophical, and practical implications

  • The Bamberg case illustrates the coercive nature of early modern witch trials and the vulnerability of elites to allegations, torture, and coerced confessions.
  • It demonstrates how legal processes could produce confessions that are later recanted as lies, revealing the tension between state power, religious zeal, and human rights concerns.
  • The private letters show the emotional and familial dimensions of persecution, providing a critical counterpoint to the public record.
  • These primary materials reveal the dangers of evidence obtained under torture and how fear can shape both testimonies and perceptions of guilt.

• Numerical and numerical-analog references (LaTeX rendering)

  • Population and victims in Würzburg: 400 in the city.
  • Students and potential witches in Würzburg: 13 ext{ or }14 among over 40 students.
  • Age markers and victims: 19-year-old maiden executed; children aged 3–4; others aged 7, 10, 12, 14, 15.
  • Satanic assembly and numbers: 8000 followers at Fraw-Rengberg.
  • Religious subversion: a “Book of Life” inscription by a notary; fear of being inscribed in the Book of Life.
  • Bamberg trial specifics: Junius was examined without torture on June 28, 1628; torture began on June 30; confession on July 5; confession ratified on August 6, 1628.
  • Financial detail in the confession: a lawsuit in 1624 cost him about 600 florins.
  • The private letter date: July 24, 1628.
  • The number of street-names and witnesses named during interrogation (e.g., multiple streets, the market-place, the Zinkenwert, the Georgthor) underscores the procedural scale of the search for accomplices.

• Connections to broader themes

  • The Bamberg and Würzburg cases exemplify the broader European phenomenon of early modern witch-hunts, where state, church, and social networks collaborated to identify, prosecute, and execute supposed witches.
  • They illustrate how confessional culture, fear of witchcraft, and claims of demonic influence could permeate political structures, potentially affecting governance and civil liberties.
  • The role of torture as a supposed method of extracting truth is central to debates about the reliability of historical sources on witchcraft and the ethics of judicial practices.

• Quick reference map of key figures and terms

  • Johannes Junius: Burgomaster of Bamberg, accused of witchcraft; subjected to torture and confessed under coercion; wrote a private letter to his daughter.
  • Dr. Georg Adam Haan: one of the physicians involved in the interrogation.
  • Chancellor, Neydekher, Hoppfens Elsse, Zaner, Hoffmaisters Ursel: individuals named in the torture and confession sequence (some alleged to be fellow confessees).
  • Beelzebub, the Devil, Krix (alias), Vixen (alias): demonic figures used in Junius’s confession.
  • The place names: Haupts-moor, Black Cross, Georgthor, St. Martin's church, the electoral council-room, the castle, the market-place.

• Summary takeaway

  • The Würzburg (1629) and Bamberg (1628) witch persecutions depict the scale, brutality, and social breadth of early modern witch trials in Germany, highlighting how fear, religious zeal, and coercive judicial practices could produce a climate where hundreds could be accused and many executed, often with confessions extracted under torture and later recanted as coerced or false. The private letters and notarially recorded documents remind us of the human impact—families torn apart, individuals coerced into making false statements, and the precarious boundary between truth and persecution in archival sources.