Witch Hunting: Europe Flashcards
1
Q
Overview
A
Timeline:
- 1480-1520s: Prosecutions occurred in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Netherlands; Inquisition in Como arrested 1000 people per yr in 1st decade
- 1520-1560s: Dip in number of Prosecutions, possibly because church and lay authorities preoccupied with Reformation, heretic hunting more common
- 1560-1660s: ‘Great European Witch Hunt’, period of intense persecution, hunts were sporadic but catholic areas in HRE particularly bad e.g. 133 witches executed on 1 day in Quedlinburg 1589
- After 1660: Trials declined, estimated that between 90,000-100,000 people executed
Overview:
- Witchcraft primarily Maleficium and not Diabolic, more Diabolism in Germany than other areas
- Legal procedures, especially regarding use of torture, determined number of deaths
- Areas with less judicial control had more executions, local courts more likely to persecute and violate procedure than higher courts
2
Q
HRE
A
HRE:
- Southern Germany area more intense, HRE split into smaller states ruled by prince bishops- over 2000 territories
- Judicial Autonomy: law not regulated, legal code Carolina largely ignored
- Major witch hunts in many small german territories from 1560-1630
- Estimated between 20,000 and 25,000 trials in HRE, over half of trials led to execution
- Ellwagen: 400 died 1611-1618
- Eichstatt: a judge claimed 247 deaths in 1629
Reasons for such intense Witch Hunting-
Economic Conditions:
- Behringer claims wave of hunts in 1600, 1611 and 1616-18 were because of extreme climate changes, crop failure, famine and disease
- Locals blamed bad weather on Devil and his agents (Scapegoating)
- Climate was bad for many years, demand for persecutions increased, possibly because of scapegoating and need to vent frustrations
Counter-Reformation Zeal:
- Some Catholic state persecuted more than Protestant states
- Although some Protestant states persecuted many witches
- Possible religious zeal of prince-bishops influencing amount of executions
Thirty Years War:
- Catholic reconquest of some parts of Germany, entire regions devastated by war, armies pillaging
- Soldiers marching through Germany spreading disease
- War badly impacted trade and economy
- Scapegoating witches led to persecution
Individuals:
- Johann Christoph Von Westerstetten was catholic prince-bishop who was a determined witch hunter
- Westerstetten initiated witch hunts in Ellwagen and continued to burn witches when he becam prince-bishop of Eichstatt
- Shows individuals using hunts to gain support or wealth etc. Although may not always be initiators of hunts
Witch Commissioners:
- New type of judge that co-ordinated witch persecutions
- Fulda model: Balthasar Nuss a judge that by-passed district courts and central government, combined torture and denunciations to get more persecutions, fulda model adopted by others
Popular Pressure:
- People could pressure leaders into hunts
- Prättigau: villages had been asking for hunts for years, when they became part of swiss canton of Graubünden the were allowed to govern themselves, set up witch courts and over 100 witches killed
Opposition:
- Suggestion that governments in developed secular states tied to establish legal systems that prevented large-scale hunts
3
Q
France
A
Overview:
- Slightly smaller than HRE but saw around 3000 prosecutions and 1000 executions from 1500-1700
- France had a strong centralised government which meant that there were less executions
- 8 parlements in France that heard appeals from local courts, Paris Parlement refused to sentence witches to death based on confessions made during torture
- Over 1/3 cases heard in Paris Parlement resulted in complete dismissal, Paris Parlement set the standard for all other Parlements
Nuns of Loudun:
- One of most famous French witch cases, happened in 1630s
- Nuns at convent in Loudun supposedly demonically possessed, many attempted exorcisms that attracted large crowds
- local priest Urbain Grandier prosecuted: Made one of Loudun’s leading official’s daughter pregnant, possession used to destroy him
- Grandier torture and confessed to making pact with Devil and causing nuns’ possession, executed in 1634
4
Q
Switzerland
A
- Estimated 10,000 witches executed in Switzerland
- Swiss Cantons were culturally, linguisticly and religiously different, this encouraged diversity in hunting patterns
- One of most severe hunts in Pays de Vaud: over 3,000 executed from 1580-1620
5
Q
Franche-Comté, Lorraine, Luxembourg and Spanish Netherlands
A
- Areas technically in HRE
- Combination of central and local involvement: HRE, King of Spain and Archduke of Burgundy all making legislation and sometimes inspired hunts, smaller duchies and states proceeded as they saw fit
- Franche-Comté: At least 400 executed before it became part of France in 1678
- Lorraine: Large witch-hunt, Nicolas Remy sent over 800 witches to their deaths from 1586-1595, witches continued to be burnt for further 10 yrs, estimated 2,000 deaths in Lorraine in total
- Luxembourg: 358 executions from 1509-1687
- Spanish Netherlands: persecutions may have equalled those in Lorraine (2,000)
6
Q
Dutch Republic
and
Denmark and Norway
A
Dutch Republic
- Had population of over 1 million
- 1594: Central court in Holland forbade torture, contributed to decline in hunts
- Dutch judges more sceptical about witches being involved in a diabolic conspiracy
Denmark and Norway:
- Denmark: 1st Scandinavian country to engage in hunts, 52 executed in 1540s
- Denmark: 1547 torture forbidden, although still 2,000 trials and 1,000 executions
- Norway: governed by Denmark, around 350 executions
7
Q
Sweden
A
Sweden:
- 1539 law: said that testimony of 6 people or confession was needed for capital conviction, all death sentences had to be appealed to royal court at Stockholm
- Dalarna: large hunt in 1668 when children accused relatives, neighbours and other children of having taken part in Swedish version of Sabatt
- 1668-1676: Around 200 people executed, ended when many children confessed to false accusations and king Charles stopped hunts by issuing royal decree
8
Q
Eastern Europe
A
Eastern Europe:
- Hunts began later in East, areas closer to Germany had more witches
- Poland: persecutions most severe, at least 1,000 executed, most trials took place in municipal courts that weren’t under central control
- Hungary: 1,500 tried and 500 executed
- Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia: prosecutions rare
Southern Europe:
- After 1550: less than 500 executions in whole of Southern Europe
- Most executions in Alpine regions of Italy
- Spain: tried over 3,500 but reluctant to put people to death, use of torture allowed sentences to be reduced from death to banishment
