Bamberg

Question 1

How many were executed in Bamberg over the 9 years of trials?

Answer 1

900

Question 2

Which empire was Germany a part of?

Answer 2

The Holy Roman Empire

Question 3

How did the legal system operate in towns and villages?

Answer 3

Towns and villages were given freedom to make their own judgements, with jurors selected from locality. cases could be referred to the governor of a particular territory, and sometimes appeals to higher courts were possible

Question 4

Which principle did Charles V establish in 1548

Answer 4

After Catholic Charles V gained victory over a Protestant confederacy in 1548, a new principle was established - that the religion of a ruler should be the religion of their region

Question 5

How did the religion of a ruler/prince-bishop, and thus their town/area, affect the population?

Answer 5

Charles V’s policy that the religion of a ruler should be the religion of a region meant that a Protestant majority could be ruled by a minority Catholic clique and vice-versa. This meant that the balance of society could easily be disturbed.

Question 6

Which law code was established under Charles V in 1532 and what did it state?

Answer 6

Due to Germany’s limited legal framework, the Carolina Law Code was established, specifying that justice should remain a local matter.

Question 7

When was Bamberg founded and why?

Answer 7

In the 11th century, to aid the spread of Christianity.

Question 8

What became of bishops from 1242 in Bamberg?

Answer 8

Bishops became prince-bishops and Bamberg became a centre for the Roman Catholic Church.

Question 9

Which religious movement gained traction in the early 16th century?

Answer 9

The Counter-Reformation

Question 10

Which order spread a fiercely anti-Protestant message, aiding the Counter-Reformation movement?

Answer 10

The Jesuit Order

Question 11

How did Protestants view the Pope in the light of the Counter-Reformation?

Answer 11

Protestants viewed the Pope as the antichrist

Question 12

How did Catholic emperors aid the Jesuit case?

Answer 12

Traditional forms of Catholic Devotion were encouraged - shrines dedicated to saints were established, and the Catholic faith became an essential component of the prince-bishopric, and the elites who governed these states supported the Habsburgs and enabled them to cement control.

Question 13

What was painted on the ceiling in the parish of St Michael in the town of Zeil?

Answer 13

The painting portrays the Catholic Church victorious over Protestant heretics

Question 14

Give an example of resistance to the Counter-Reformation

Answer 14

In the Lutheran commune of Marktzeuln, the parishioners of the local church refused to renounce their faith. When Catholic authorities attempted to intervene, they were threatened and chased away.

Question 15

Which measures did von Aschhausen take to prioritise the conversion of Protestant parishes to Catholicism upon his appointment as prince-bishop in 1609?

Answer 15

Fines were imposed on parishes that remained Protestant

Supplies of wood to Protestant parishes restricted

Catholic troops quartered in Protestant villages

Dissidents were sent into exile

Protestants could face imprisonment in Bamberg tower

Question 16

Which measures did Von Aschhausen take to encourage Catholicism in Bamberg?

Answer 16

He invited the Jesuits to settle in Bamberg and founded Catholic Schools. Additionally, he sent uncooperative priests to their own prison, known as the “priests vault”.

Question 17

How many witches did Von Aschhausen have executed?

Answer 17

300

Question 18

Who was Von Aschhausen’s predecessor and in which year did he first initiate the trials? Give an example of an individual trialled under his leadership.

Answer 18

Von Aschhausen’s predecessor was Neytard von Thungen, who initiated the trials in 1595, charging Margarethe Pemmerin with witchcraft. She admitted to worshipping the Devil and was sentenced to be burnt at the stake. However, von Thungen decided she could be executed by sword in a last minute decision, a punishment viewed as less brutal

Question 19

In 1610, what did von Aschhausen’s new ordinance concerning witchcraft state?

Answer 19

That any person found practising magic would be severely punished. This ordinance coincided with Protestant rebellion in Bohemia. He also stated that contrary to the laws of the Catholic Church and Empire, sorcerers and fortune tellers were at work in Bamberg.

Question 20

What did 1611 visitations reveal under von Aschhausen’s rule?

Answer 20

That despire Aschhausen’s new ordinance, which threatened to punish those practising magic, blasphemous practices were still found. Fortune telling and spell casting were discovered, and pre-Christian activities were reported at an old pagan shrine.

Question 21

How did Catholic authorities view Protestant preachers in towns?

Answer 21

It enhanced the connection between Protestantism and witchcraft in the eyes of the Catholic authorities.

Question 22

How was Lena Pantzerin’s trial significant?

Answer 22

When one women, Lena Pantzerin, was accused in 1612, nobody seemed to know how to examine a witch, so an outsider named Trill was called in. As with so many other hunts across Europe, the accusation against Pantzerin led to many more being accused and executed.

Question 23

What was the significance of the years 1616-19?

Answer 23

The years 1616-19 saw an intensity of witch-hunting not seen before, although trials were brought to an end in 1619 by a group of moderates on the local council. They claimed that with war breaking out in neighbouring Bohemia, the authorities could not afford the luxury of chasing phantoms.

Question 24

Who was elected as prince-bishop in 1623?

Answer 24

Von Dornheim was elected as prince-bishop in 1623, and any opposition to witch hunting was effectively removed and the hunts were able to begin again.

Question 25

Broadly speaking, what were the origins/wider causes of the Thirty Years War?

Answer 25

The origins of the war lay in both the religious divisions in Northern Europe and the ambitions of the Habsburg monarchy.

Question 26

During which years did the Thirty Years War take place?

Answer 26

1618-48

Question 27

How did the Habsburgs cause resentment amongst Protestants?

Answer 27

The Habsburg Emperors were historically concerned with enhancing their territory, usually through marriage. This would often cause resentment, as was the case in both Moravia and Bohemia, where Protestants became bitter as a result of Counter-Reformation policies.

Question 28

How many Swedes, and how many Danes fought in the war? Which other countries were involved in fighting?

Answer 28

150,000 swedes and 100,000 danes fighting for Protestant cause, as well as Dutch, Scottish & English involvement.

Question 29

What did France's decision to join the anti-Habsburg alliance mean for the war?

Answer 29

From 1636, France joined the anti-Habsburg alliance and the war became less a war of religion and more a continuation of the existing rivalry between the French and the Habsburgs in Spain and Germany.

Question 30

How did war cause famine?

Answer 30

Famine was caused by soldiers requisitioning foods supplies, which were already low due to a mini ice-age and disastrous crop failure. Towns were exploited for their supplies, and men were forcefully conscripted to fight, meaning a lower working force. Combined, this led to a fear of witches as misfortune was ever-present.

Question 31

How did the context of war affect Catholic belief?

Answer 31

Catholics in Bamberg who had fought for the Counter-Reformation became more fanatical than ever. People who deviated from orthodox Catholic practices were labelled as heretics and suspicion was laid upon the Devil.

Question 32

Give examples of the sort of people typically targeted by Catholics in the context of war.

Answer 32

* Women whose sexual behaviour deviated from that expected from the Catholic Church - this fear originated from the Protestant belief that priests should not necessarily live lives of celibacy. * People whose political views or attitude to war deviated from those of Catholic authorities * People who had existing reputation for healing/fortune telling/sorcery - easy scapegoats * Members of the upper class. Under Prince-Bishop Dornheim (1623-32) a law that allowed for the confiscation of witches’ property was exploited, resulting in the upper classes being disproportionately targeted.

Question 33

What was significant about the trial of Katharina Merckhlerin in November 1626?

Answer 33

Her confession contained the admission that she had been part of a plot to freeze and destroy all of Bamberg's crops. This exemplifies the blaming of environmental factors on witchcraft and the Devil.

Question 34

Describe the significance of environmental factors at Bamberg

Answer 34

An early 17th century mini ice age, with 1628 being the "year with no summer", and 1629 being the peak of cold and wet weather of Bamberg heightened accusation. Resultant crop failure created feuds over resources and people saw the Devil responsible.

Question 35

What was the debt for the Thirty Years War?

Answer 35

800,000 florins

Question 36

What was the result of declining silver import from America?

Answer 36

Copper was utilized instead, and coins reduced in real value, causing inflation. Gold content of the florin (reserve currency) had reduced by 79% as well, contributing further to inflation.

Question 37

What percentage of those brought to trial between 1623-1631 were women?

Answer 37

72.7%

Question 38

In which town was the epicentre of the mass hysteria from 1626?

Answer 38

Zeil - 59 were charged.

Question 39

During which year did hysteria spread to Bamberg itself?

Answer 39

1628

Question 40

How many were brought to trial between 1623 and 1631 in Bamberg? And how many escaped or were released?

Answer 40

642 brought to trial, with 45 being released or escaping.

Question 41

What was the average age of women brought to trial?

Answer 41

33.5 - surprisingly young and of "marriageable" age.

Question 42

What is the name of the mayor of Bamberg, targeted in the trials?

Answer 42

John Junius

Question 43

What did Hans Langhans, mayor of Zeil, confess to subsequent to torture?

Answer 43

That he had been baptized by the Devil in 1611, and that he was responsible for the frost that destroyed the wine crop in 1615-16.

Question 44

What proportion of those accused in Zeil were either local officials or their relatives?

Answer 44

1/2

Question 45

Why were high status individuals targeted?

Answer 45

Because of property confiscation laws and financial gains, as well as a belief that public officials who failed to persecute witches were consequently guilty themselves.

Question 46

Describe the use of hereditary guilt

Answer 46

A father was often accused and executed along with his children and wife - or vice versa. Georg Hann, who questioned the trials by petitioning the imperial high court to intervene in the cases, was executed following the execution of his wife and daughter, helping the authorities convince others of this guilt.

Question 47

What did the Carolina Law Code of 1532 allow?

Answer 47

It allowed for an extensive range of torture devices to be used on suspects and with the judicial freedom that the prince-bishop enjoyed. Numerous confessions were extracted this way.

Question 48

Give examples of torture methods used on witches

Answer 48

Thumbscrews Strappado (suspended in air by wrists) Burning of womens hair whipping kneel on wood covered in spikes food containing salt and pepper and water deprivation small room with spikes on floor to prevent sleeping

Question 49

How was John Junius implicated in the trials?

Answer 49

His wife had been executed, implicating him by association. He was also implicated by Georg Hann and his family.

Question 50

What does Junius state in a letter to his daughter shortly before his execution?

Answer 50

That it was only the torture that compelled him to confess, and that he was innocent.

Question 51

Hans Sebald (1990) identifies which typical elements of confession? Give some examples.

Answer 51

- Recounting involvement with the Devil - Oath of loyalty to mock baptism in the presence of demons - A baptism with the devil reported with a gift - often a piece of gold that turned into turnip or pottery - Demons of conspirators were an important part of confession - A list of evil deeds such as damage to crops - Sacrilege or blasphemy were the most abhorrent deeds, and accounts of stealing wafer from communion and desecrating it on more than one occasion.

Question 52

Why did the witch-hunt become a sort of industry?

Answer 52

Victims were responsible for their own court costs, the travel expenses of interrogators and torturers, paying extra costs. The families of victims paid for raw materials such as wood, rope and nails and a fee for the executioner and removal of the body. The self-paying nature of trials led to the development of an industry.