Bamberg Witch Hunt Flashcards
When did it take place?
1623-1632, uninterrupted
How many people were executed?
Between 600-900.
Overall, across the HRE ~30k ppl during the 16-17c.
Demographics of the victims
- Women (72.2%)
- Younger, wealthier ppl- average age was 33½
- This makes Bamberg an outlier in terms of how Europe saw witches
Where did the hunt take place?
Bamberg, one of the many political entities that comprised the Holy Roman Empire
What happened in the 16th century that sparked huge religious tension in the Holy Roman Empire?
Protestant Reformation began in October 31st 1517 w/Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses in Germany, so the reformation spread more quickly in the HRE than anywhere else.
After the Reformation began, there were wars of religion across Europe. What ended these in the HRE?
Peace of Augsburg, 1555. Stated that the religion of a ruler would determine the religion of the state eg a town w/a Catholic ruler could be led by a minority clique of Catholics despite a Protestant majority and vice-versa.
Who ruled each state in the HRE?
- Emperor oversaw empire
- States was by a Prince or Prince-Bishop, the latter being appointed directly by the Pope. Large areas of HRE were under the jurisdiction of prince-bishops in 17thC
What factors led to the panics spreading and becoming widespread in the HRE?
- Fragmented political and judicial authority- panics could easily take hold
- Context of Reformation + Counter-Reformation- Germans feared Devil’s work all around them
- Limited legal framework to use against witches
What was the Carolina Law Code of 1532?
- Specified justice should remain a local matter
- Allowed use of a range of torture devices on suspects- but confessions obtained through torture were not alone enough for a conviction
- Allowed for the confiscation of property from prisoners
When was Bamberg founded and why?
11thC, created to aid spread of Christianity in Germany. From 1242, its bishops became prince-bishops and Bamberg became an important centre of Roman Catholic Church
When did the Counter-Reformation begin and what did it aim to do?
Led by zealous prince-bishops across HRE, it began in the second 1/2 of 16th century, aimed to gain territory and followers back for the Catholic faith.
The Counter-Reformation gained momentum in the HRE due to the influence of the Jesuit order. Why is this significant?
- Jesuit churches across HRE w/fiercly anti-Protestant clergy. In return, Protestants believed Catholics were in league w/Devil + Pope = Antichrist
- Catholic faith became essential part of the prince-bishopric w/Habsburg-supporting elites
What was significant about the ceiling painting in the church of St Michael in Zeil (a town in Bamberg)?
Shows Catholic Church victorious over Protestant heretics- Mary holds high a chalice while Protestant clergy in black robes crouch w/snakes in their mouths. Shows women in purgatory chained as witches
CLEAR EVIDENCE OF THE SUPPOSED LINK BETWEEN PROTESTANTISM, THE DEVIL, AND WITCHCRAFT
Who was appointed as prince-bishop of Bamberg in 1609? What was his top priority for Bamberg?
- Johann Gottfried von Aschhausen
- Priority: Convert Protestant parishes to Catholicism
How did von Aschhausen increase Catholic influence in Bamberg by punishing Protestants?
- Restricted supplies of wood to Protestant parishes
- Rounded up and arrested Lutherans several times
- Exiled dissidents
- Stationed Catholic troops in Protestant villages
- Imposed fines on parishes that insisted on staying Protestant
How did von Aschhausen increase Catholic influence through policy?
- Invited Jesuits to settle in Bamberg + found Catholic schools
- Sent uncooperative priests to their own prison (‘Priests’ Vaults)
How many witches did von Aschhausen execute?
Around 300
What was von Aschhausen’s ordinance concerning witchcraft of 1610?
- Ordered an investigation into ppl suspected of practising magic. Coincided w/Protestant rebellions in nearby Bohemia
- Stated that sorcerers and fortune tellers were at work in Bamberg
What did the bishop’s visitation report of 1611 claim was occurring in Bamberg?
Blasphemous activities:
- Fortune-telling & spell-casting
- Pre-Christian activities at an old Pagan shrine
- Protestant preachers harbored in same regions as occult activities, enhanced link between Protestantism + witchcraft in the eyes of the Catholic authorities
Why did the trials under von Aschhausen end?
Moderates on the local council claimed that w/war breaking out in Bohemia, the authorities couldn’t afford the luxury of hunting witches.
Who was elected as prince-bishop in 1623? How was he similar to his predecessor?
- George II Fuchs von Dornheim
- Both had Friedrich Forner as their vicar-general
Who was the Holy Roman Emperor elected in 1619?
Ferdinand II, a staunch Catholic.
- Wanted to make HRE fully Catholic by reclaiming Protestant territories and properties- led to Defenestration of Prague 1618
What was the Defenestration of Prague of May 1618?
4 Catholic representatives of HREmperor sent to meet w/Protestant leaders incl. Count Thurn who was angered at spread of Catholicism. Defenestrated 2 of the hardline nobles + their secretary, a 70ft drop which they survived.
Why was the Defenestration of Prague significant?
Final catalyst for the Thirty Years War
When was the Thirty Years War?
1618-1648
What countries were involved in the Thirty Years War?
Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Scotlands, England, France (from 1635 for the Protestants- hated Habsbugs)
Why did the presence of large armies in Bamberg and the wider Empire have such a huge impact?
- Soldiers requisitioned food
- Villages were plundered for supplies
- Young men + boys forcibly conscripted for both sides
LED TO INCREASED FEAR OF WITCHES AS MISFORTUNE WAS SEEN TO BE PRESENT EVERYWHERE
In the context of the war, Catholics in Bamberg became more fanatical than ever. Who did they start to target?
Anyone who deviated from orthodox Catholic practices was linked to the Devil. The usual suspects:
- Women who didn’t meet Catholic standards for sexual behaviour
- Dissident men and women
- Ppl w/rep for fortune telling, sorcery- scapegoats
- Upper class
Evidence that witches were blamed for the poor harvests of the 1620s
- Katharina Merckhlerin confessed in 1626 that she had conspired to freeze + destroy all of Bamberg’s crops
- One woman was accused in 1629 of suggesting a frost should ruin the fruit harvest
- Witch trials peaked in 1629, when frost destroyed usually lucrative wine crop
What significant climate event did the Bamberg witch trials coincide with?
‘Little Ice Age’ of 1560-1660
How much debt did Bamberg have due to the War?
800,000 florins. Authorities had no choice but to levy high taxes
What 2 things triggered further accusations and arrest?
- Named by others under torture as accomplices
- Petitions from subjects to their overlords which demanded eradication of witches in certain villages, parishes, or towns
- Why did money supply in the Holy Roman Empire decline?
2. What was attempted in order to fix this across the Holy Roman Empire?
- Silver from America had been well supplied until imports began to decline around 1610
- Non-silver currency utilised; pan-European reserve currency gold florin reduced in gold content from 79% in early 15thC to 77% in 1626
- What led to increased inflation in Bamberg in the 1600s?
2. What was blamed for this?
- Money lost its real value + poor weather resulted in crop failures –> price of goods increased.
- Blamed on black magic- no coincidence that accused were most likely to live along trade routes, so more likely to be in financial conflict w/others.
What evidence is there that economic problems in Bamberg were a huge part of the witch trials?
Mentioned in several confessions:
- Kunigudta Rindterin confessed she’d entered into relationship w/rich man to avoid poverty- seen as diabolic pact
- Margaretha Gussbacherin prostituted herself to man in black feather hat for money- seen as diabolic pact
How did the Carolina Law Code allow torture?
Didn’t specifically allow torture but allows justice to be dealt with at a local level (and Prince Bishop Von Dornheim allows torture)
How did the Bamberg hunts breach the Carolina Law Code?
- Trials should be done in public
- Accused are allowed a lawyer
- Confessions (esp those obtained under torture) should be backed up w/evidence
None of this happens in Bamberg
Evidence that Zeil was the initial epicentre of the Bamberg trials in 1626
- Initially, 59 people charged- at least 30 of these were executed or died in custody
- In 1627, 130 suspects from Zeil were brought to trial. Only 45 escaped execution.
Hereditary guilt led to the deaths of many others than the initial accused, such as?
Conrad Merklein and Conrad Orter, who were both on Zeil’s senior town council were executed in Nov 1626, the rest of their families were executed shortly after.
By 1629, Merklein and Orter families were virtually wiped out
The Carolina Law Code of 1532 allowed for the confiscation of property from suspects. Alongside this, what else encouraged the persecution of the upper classes?
Suspects had to pay all costs: travel expenses of interrogators/torturers, wages of extra staff or horses required by authorities, family charged 4 every element of execution incl. wood, rope etc + removal of body.
Due to the Carolina Law Code of 1532, the trials essentially came to pay for themselves. What did this lead to?
Development of a witch-hunting industry.
Professions who would have benefitted from the hunt: eg rope makers, inn keepers, lawyers
Examples of torture devices used at Bamberg
- Thumbscrews- vice-like contraption (also used on toes)
- Strappado- suspends victim by the wrists while heavy weights were attached (dislocation of the wrists)
- Food w/excessive salt/pepper + given no water
- Room covered in spikes to prevent sleep (in Drudenhaus)
One of the most high-profile cases from Bamberg was John Junius and the torture he endured. Who was he?
- Had served as mayor for 20 years
- Arrested in 1628- implicated because his wife had been executed and he’d been accused by George Hann
Historian Hans Sebald (1990) identified typical elements to the confessions. What were 4 of these elements?
- Recounting how the accused became involved w/Devil
- Described death threat given to them by their demon or familiar
- List of evil deeds (eg crop damage, harm to ppl etc)
- Sacrilege or blasphemy (eg stealing communion wafer)
Who was Prince-Bishop Johann George Fuchs von Dornheim?
(died 1633) Known as the Hexenbischof- witch-bishop
- Champion of the Counter-Reformation and like his predecessor, Von Aschhausen, believed tackling witchcraft was vital.
How did property confiscations benefit von Dornheim?
Helped to ensure that the Treasury, and von Dornheim’s own wealth, increased dramatically.
Von Dornheim built something called a ‘Drudenhaus’ (witch-prison) in 1627. What were some of its features?
- Could contain 30-40 suspects at a time
- Walls were covered in biblical texts, where accused would be tortured w/von Dornheim’s personal consent.
- Other, smaller prisons built in smaller towns w/in his bishopric
Who was Frederick Forner?
- Vicar-General to both von Aschhausen and von Dornheim
- Fierce opponent of witchcraft and Calvinism
- Proponent of the Counter-Reformation
Why did Forner believe Calvinism was detestable?
Preachers were false prophets who taught lies about Catholic clergy and were no different to magicians
(his evidence- an exorcism where a demon stated that it had no fear of Calvinist ministers as they were allies)
How did Forner link Protestantism and witchcraft?
- He reported that in areas where occult practices were happening, Protestant preachers were harboured.
- Both witches and Protestants undermine entire social/political order by failing to respect sacraments, relics and festivals of Catholic Church
Why did Forner believe witchcraft cases were increasing?
- Defeat of one demonic force leads to the rise of another, more lethal force. E.g. when Lutheran clergy extinguished in the area, witchcraft emerged
- Outbreak of 30 years war led to more witchcraft- war + maleficia = final stage in struggle between God and Devil
How was Forner indispensable to von Dornheim?
He provided an intellectual framework for the hunts that von Dornheim could not grasp as easily so he was indispensable
How did Forner and von Dornheim link disobedience and witchcraft?
- Both believed obedience=central to well-functioning society + found biblical evidence to support this
- Forner presented battle between God/Devil as historical- Devil preyed on man’s disobedience in order to offer false promises
How did Forner and von Dornheim justify their use of torture on suspected witches?
Believed the closer one came to defeating the Devil, the more violent he would become. So if the Devil is violent, using violence and torture on accused witches was justified
How did Forner and von Dornheim explain the increasing cases of witchcraft in Bamberg during the war?
- Catholic areas would see more witches as Protestants already believed Devil’s lies so he didn’t need to use his pwr against them
- It was a sign the Counter-Reformation was a success- Devil resorting to more desperate tactics as his Protestant allies were flagging on the battlefield.
Outline the causes of the hunt coming to an end
- Involvement of the Imperial Chamber Court
- Scepticism before 1630:
- Emperor Ferdinand’s involvement- Dorothea Flock
- Georg Wilhelm Dulmer’s letter
- Arrival of Swedish Army
How did scepticism before 1630 lead to the trials coming to an end?
- 1627: complaints about innocents being killed sent to religious and imperial courts.
- Von Dornheim’s response: proclamation- ppl giving false testimony would be flogged- whipping post erected 4 this
Did Von Dornheim’s proclamation of 1627 genuinely aim at protecting innocent people?
NO: He was protecting his inner circle- Forner had been accused; he had to issue warnings against slander.
How did the Dorothea Flock trial begin?
1630- councillor Georg Heinrich Flock accused. He fled but his pregnant wife Dorothea was arrested.
Why did Emperor Ferdinand II get involved in the Bamberg trials?
Flock and family appealed to Ferdinand and the pope who both appealed to VD to stop. They asked that all documents be sent to the imperial Holfrat for review and threatened the Prince-Bishop with punishment.
How was Dorothea Flock still executed despite the intervention of Ferdinand II and the Pope?
VD rushed trial through and she was executed before they could arrive on 17th May- she was beheaded and burned in secret at 6am.
What happened after Dorothea Flock was executed?
Flock’s family protested even more, highlighed how hunt was breaking the Carolina Law Code:
- Trial was in secret with no lawyer
- Witnesses were not checked
- Confessions through torture shouldn’t have been used alone w/no other evidence.
What was the Imperial Chamber Court?
Located in Speyer, it was the highest judicial court in the HRE, w/judges appointed directly by the Emperor
What happened when complaints about the trials began to reach the Imperial Chamber Court?
Von Dornheim sent two witch-commissioners to the Diet of Regensburg to try and preserve his reputation- Dr Harsee and Dr Schwartzkonz
What happened when Von Dornheim sent representatives to the Imperial Chamber Court?
- Court was already sceptical of the hunt
- Ferdinand sent VD strongly worded letter- stated VD was breaking imperial codes and was to end hunt, citing the Barbara Schwarz case (an escapee of the hunt to Vienna)
After Ferdinand wrote to Von Dornheim, what did Von Dornheim and his witch-commissioners claim about the situation in Bamberg?
- Falsely stated no one had been arrested since June 1630; Ferdinand discovered in March 1631 that at least 25 ppl had been arrested in the meantime
- Ferdinand also discovered that the commissioners continued to get richer as the trials bankrupted the town
Who was Georg Wilhelm Dulmer?
Former administrator of St Martin’s Church in Bamberg wrote a powerful letter which may have convinced the Emperor once and for all that the trials needed to end
What did Georg Wilhelm Dulmer state about the victims in his letter to Ferdinand?
- 100s of people had been tortured and there were false accusations
- Never sufficient proof
- His pregnant wife had been accused, tortured and executed. He was then accused; both innocent Catholics
What did Georg Wilhelm Dulmer’s letter state about the trials and the Carolina Law Code?
- Carolina Law Code permitted a lawyer – this had been denied in Bamberg
- Cases should be held in civil courts but they were held by commissioners in secret
What was the impact of Georg Wilhelm Dulmer’s letter?
- June, 1631: Ferdinand announced he was to punish those responsible
- Appointed a new director of the witch-commission, Dr Anton Winter
- Decreed all future trials were to be conducted according to Code
- Banned confiscation of property
What was von Dornheim’s reaction to Ferdinand’s announcement?
VD continued + accused those who spoke against him of witchcraft- he refused to release prisoners.
How successful had the Swedish Army been during the 30 Years’ War?
Very successful in the War:
- Army swelled to 150k by 1632
- Much of the territory lost by the Protestants regained between 1630-1634
What happened when the Swedish army invaded and took over the administration of Bamberg?
- VD forced to flee. Looted cathedrals and fled to Austria where he died of a stroke in 1633.
- Despite being occupied by Protestants, Catholics in Bamberg were able to continue w/ordinary way of life
How was the Swedish Army able to take over Bamberg in 1632?
- Bamberg was tired of fighting
- Pop was in decline by time Swedes arrived; by end of War, it would’ve declined by 40% in total
How did the arrival of the Swedish Army in Bamberg in 1632 lead to the end of the hunt?
Declining pop., decimated farms, constant fighting+flight of VD meant witch hunting was no longer a priority. Any new hunt also had to abide by the Code- no longer a need for the witch prison and torture chambers.
