Depth Studies
Thursday, 2 March 2023 11:44 am
Pop Culture and Witchcraft notes + tables Page 1
,Southern Germany 1590-1630
Thursday, 2 March 2023 11:47 am
Popular Culture and the context of the Witch craze in Southern Germany
- Religious Context
→ Southern Germany was split into multiple different political factions, which by 1555 Treaty of Augsburg, the
ruler's religion was the religion of the nation
→ This meant that a Catholic majority could be ruled by a Protestant, or vice versa, which created issues of
religious strife and possible moral regulation to create a godly state in their views
→ Many Protestants believed that saints were successors to pagan gods and wanted their festivals abolished
and argued that they distracted people from work or Church
→ Even after the Council of Trent 1545 got their house in order, deplored the celebration of saints if the
celebrations turned boisterous or drunken
▪ Religious ceremonies, such as weddings, were subject to new regulations to emphasise their sacred
nature
▪ Feast of Fools, attacking Church hierarchy
▪ Dances and fairs were not allowed on Church grounds
▪ Laity were not allowed to dress up as clergy
▪ Catholic clergy weren't allowed to participate in popular festivals
→ Festivals were reformed but not abolished, however, the Catholic Church didn't abandoned its use of visual
or spectacle
- Impact of the Counter-Reformation
→ In the 2nd half of the 16th century the Catholic Church began to regain territory and followers, mostly due
to campaigns led by zealous Prince-Bishops, normally aided by members of the Jesuit order
→ These Prince-Bishops promoted an anti-Protestant rhetoric, which made many Protestants believe that
Catholicism was close to magic and that Catholics were in league with the devil, and pope was the antichrist
→ Catholic rulers, however, encouraged traditional catholic devotion and new shrines were dedicates to saints
→ The Catholic faith became an important part of the prince-bishopric as they used this to cement their
control over their dominions/create a godly society
- Withdrawal of the elite from popular culture
→ During the period, mostly due to economic changes, popular culture changed, with many historians
believing that the elites abandoned much of the traditional cultures that were engaged in at the time
→ A gulf opened up between the nobility, clergy, bourgeoisie, and everyone else - the meaning of the word
'the people' changed, representing this
→ Clergy were no longer from the same social background as the peasants, they were now learned, educated,
and thus more remote and distance from their parishioners
→ The nobility adopted more refined manners and even withdrew from eating with their retainers in great
halls
The Reasons for the Witch craze in Southern Germany
- Context
→ Southern Germany in the late 16th Century was the centre for witchcraft prosecutions, with most taking
place in areas ruled by prince-bishops
→ Mostly, this is down to the political and judicial authority being fragmented, allowing panics to develop and
go unchecked
→ Development of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation meant that people feared the devil was all
around them
→ A law code created by Charles V in 1532, the Carolina Code stated justice was a local matter, and allowed
some forms of execution when needed
- Counter-Reformation
→ Prince-Bishops were at the centre of the campaign to win back land to the Catholic faith, and were aided by
Jesuits who, along with other clergy would preach violent anti-Protestant messages
→ Protestants thus believed that Catholics were in league with the devil
→ EXAMPLE - In Bamberg, the conversation of Protestant parishes was prioritised, and there were
persecutions and imprisonment for those who refused to convert
→ EXAMPLE - Prince Bishop Aschhausen's appointment in 1609, resulted in a rise in prosecutions. He brought
in Jesuits and issued a new ordinance on witchcraft, punishing anyone who practiced witchcraft, coinciding
with a Protestant rebellion in nearby Bohemia
- The Thirty Years' War
→ Witch-hunting became particularly severe during the 30 Years' War (1618-1648)
→ Large armies often devastated vast areas of Southern Germany, with towns plundered for supplies and
forced conscription brought in for young men
→ When combined with poor harvests and inflation, there was a growing fear of witches as misfortune seemed
to be ever present
→ Catholics became fanatical, anyone who was seen as deviating from orthodoxy practices were seen as
heretics and suspected of working with the devil
- Economic Crises
→ A number of trials and confessions made reference to weather and poor harvests
→ EXAMPLE - 1629 - Trial of Lorentz Seebauer's wife, she was accused of suggesting a frost should ruin the
harvest
→ EXAMPLE - 1626 - Katharina Merckhlerin's confession involved a plot to freeze and destroy crops
→ EXAMPLE - 1629 - Trials in Bamberg reached their peak when frost from the Little Ice Age destroyed the
wine crops
→ EXAMPLE - 1589-91 - Duke of Bavaria executed 63 people between 1589-1591 for 'Weather Magic'
- Inflation
→ Supply of money was a serious issue, particularly because silver imports began to decline, causing coins to
have less gold and silver content, reducing their value
→ Combined with poor harvests, this resulted in a rapid increase in food price, which was blamed on magic and
witch-craft
→ EXAMPLE - Margaretha Eissmennin admitted to coin clipping due to poverty, resulting in her turning to the
devil
→ EXAMPKE - Kunigudta Rindterin entered a relationship with a rich man (devil) to avoid poverty
→ EXAMPLE - Margaretha Gussbacherin became convinced to be a prostitute to a rich man to avoid poverty,
which was seen as due to the devil's influence
- Thus, it was a combination of religious tensions, poor weather, war, and poor socio-economic conditions that
forced people both above and below to look for a scape-goat and an excuse for it all, which was witches
Geography and nature of witchcraft in Southern Germany
- Context
→ Although witch-hunts took place in Southern Germany, not every state was impacted
→ Bohemia and Austria, where governments had a tighter control on lower courts, saw no hunts at all
→ Places like Prague, Vienna, and Habsburg Capitals provided safe havens for those suspected, but were also
key centres for the Counter-Reformation
→ Catholic Prince Bishops oversaw 6,000 deaths during the 40 year period, with the geography of the hunts
significantly impacted by the religious zeal and personality of the rulers
Pop Culture and Witchcraft notes + tables Page 2
, significantly impacted by the religious zeal and personality of the rulers
- Structure of the Holy Roman Empire
→ HRE was a loose political structure
→ It was a confederation of autonomous and semi-autonomous states, with very little outside influence on the
legal affairs within the states
→ Southern Germany was much more fragmented than the north, since the North had many large states, but
the South had lots of smaller, political units (Bamberg, Wurzburg, Eichstatt, Wurttemberg, and Ellwangen)
- Who was convicted?
→ Most of those prosecuted in the initial stages of the hunts fit the stereotype of female, old, and relatively
poor
→ In many areas, as the hunts progressed, the convicted moved up the social ladder, with religious figures,
mayors, and wives of nobles being included, as well as rich people
→ EXAMPLE - In Trier, the former lord mayor, councillors, parish priests, and chancellor of the university were
burned
→ EXAMPLE - In Wurzburg, Prince-Bishop Ehrenburg nobles and mayors were burned, as well as the nephew of
Ehrenberg and 19 Catholic Priests, and 7 children
→ EXAMPLE - In Bamberg, the vice chancellor, his wife, and children were burned - Lord Mayor was also
tortured and confessed
→ EXAMPLE - 1628 Bamberg, Former mayor Neudecker was imprisoned, who denounced another mayor
(Burgmeister) Johannes Junius.
- Why were these groups persecuted?
→ For political and social revenge
→ To confiscate possessions/make money
→ Because they acted leniently toward others accused of witchcraft, making them seem like sympathisers
→ Because of evidence or accusations from others who were prosecuted, through denunciations
→ EXAMPLE - in Trier, 306 witches denounced 1500 people, with an average of 1 denouncing 20 others, which
resulted in 1,000 being executed
→ EXAMPLE - In Bamberg, only 7 older women were executed, showing how when the hunt moves up the
chain, the traditional stereotypes are broken - HOWEVER, 73% in Bamberg were still women
→ Men were normally involved when their wives or daughters were accused
→ EXAMPLE - In Bamberg, there is evidence that those who failed to receive Catholic Communion were
prosecuted
The Response of the authorities to witchcraft and its impact on society
- Context
→ What makes Southern Germany so unique, is the sheer speed of the trials
→ EXAMPLE - 1629 - Bamberg, Frau Anna Hansen was arrested on the 17th June, executed on the 7th July
- The Use of Torture
→ Torture was key in gaining confessions
→ EXAMPLE - In Trier, 306 witches denounced 1500 people
→ EXAMPLE - Drudenhaus, built by Dornheim in Bamberg would have a set of leading questions asked during
torture, securing confessions
→ Carolina Code 1532 allowed for a range of torture devises to be used, and since Prince-Bishops were
judicially and politically independent, they had the freedom to use torture to its full extent to gain lots of
confessions - In Bamberg, networks of informers and a witch-prison, Drudenhaus, was built to perform the
interrogation, trial, and execution in 1 hyper-efficient place - Accusation to death in 4 days!
- Role of Confessions
→ 101 questions were drawn up in Bamberg and used in interrogations, with most of them being leading and
thus forcing/tricking the accused into confessing by answering the questions in torture
→ They were aimed at getting the person to talk about how they got in contact with the devil, and threatened
with death or further torture if they don't comply
→ Confessions also gained denunciations (Trier 306 -> 1500 example)
→ The leading questions contained elements of an oath of loyalty to the devil (Devil's Pact), a new name, and a
gift/financial incentive. Night Flight and Sabbaths were also present
- Confiscations
→ Bamberg law allowed for the confiscation of witches property
→ EXAMPLE - Bamberg had an 800,000 Florin debt due to the 30 Years' War, Neudecker was held for years,
extracting 150,000 Florins from him, showing how financially, it was smart to hold witches
→ Victims had to pay for the travel expenses of interrogates, staff required by authorities, the execution
process, and the trial
→ This explains why it moved up the political chain, since people profited majorly
- Role of the Prince-Bishops
→ Prince-Bishops most definitely aided and allowed the hunts to occur, which provided a scape-goat for
problems/anxiety,
→ EXAMPLE - Edict of Restitution, issued by Emperor Ferdinand II in 1629, was used to justify their actions as it
called for the conversion of any Protestants. Prince-Bishop Dornheim was an ardent counter-reformation
supporter and believed it was his duty to tackle this, which involved witch-craft
→ Prince-Bishops often became personally involved, hiring staff, interrogators, and informant networks to hunt
witches
→ Why did Prince-Bishops do this?
▪ They claimed the 30 Years' War outbreak was due to Protestantism, so it should be removed
▪ 1629 Edict of Resolution
▪ Protestant Preachers taught lies about Catholic priests, believing them no different to magicians
▪ They believed occult (sacrileges/subversive) practices were being carried out in where Protestant
preachers were found
▪ They thought Witches and Protestant preachers undermined the social order
▪ They believed Protestantism unleashed witch-craft
▪ They saw the 30 Years' War as a final struggle between God and the Devil, with witches working on
behalf of the devil, resulting in more prosecutions
- Why did the hunts end?
→ Opposition from Emperor Ferdinand II, who stepped in to try and stop hunts in Bamberg
→ Bishop Forner of Bamberg, key in orchestrating and pushing for hunts in Bamberg died in 1630
→ King of Sweden occupied Bamberg, forcing Dornheim to flee and die in 1633
→ Other key prosecutors, like the Bishop of Wurzburg, died in 1631
→ Essentially, the push from above disappeared
Pop Culture and Witchcraft notes + tables Page 3
, NOTES
Monday, 17 April 2023 11:32 am
Imperial opposition to the witch hunts in Germany was of great influence in their decline. The
refusal of the prince-bishops (for example, Dornheim in the cases of Dr Georg Haanin 1628 and
Dorothea Flock in 1630) to abide by the laws that had been set out by central government led to
complaints reaching the Imperial Court at Speyer. High-profile members of the court were already
sceptical, and felt it was in the political interests of Ferdinand to end toleration of the hunts. As
petitions continued, Ferdinand finally acted by appointing Dr Anton Winter as the head of the witch-
commission. Winter was sceptical about the hunts and together with Ferdinand decreed that all
future trials must be conducted exactly in line with the Carolina Code. This made it far more difficult
for witches to be accused since proper evidence was needed. People could no longer be tried based
on accusations by other witches. Of course, the fractured nature of the empire meant that this could
not be strictly enforced everywhere.
Of course, this was far from the only reason for the decline of the witch hunts. For example, the
hunts that occurred in Bamberg occurred under the influence of the prince-bishop, Dornheim, who
was removed from the city when Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden took over the city in 1632. The lack
of a prince-bishop driving the process from above effectively ended the hunts in Bamberg.
Religious and intellectual changes also played a part in the decline of witch hunts in Germany.
Developments in Catholic beliefs resulted in the growing idea of the supremacy of God, and
everything that happened could only happen with His consent, thus making witchcraft an
impossibility since it was unholy. This coincided with the Scientific Revolution and, later on, the
Enlightenment, which developed and spread rational ideas and helped people to understand that
there could be natural explanations for what they had previously blamed on witchcraft.
Improvement of the social and economic conditions after 1650 also contributed to the decline of the
witchcraze. The absence of war improved conditions vastly, and economies were allowed to recover,
bringing an end to inflation and a rise in wages. As conditions improved, people did not need
scapegoats for their misfortunes and thus accusations of witchcraft decreased.
It was the combination of all of these factors that led to the decline of witchcraft in Germany.
However, it was the improvement in social and economic conditions as a result of the end of the
Thirty Years War that was most important, since people no longer needed scapegoats for their
misfortune as prices went down and wages went up. This removed the drive to hunt witches on a
local level, and once combined with the removal of incentives for the elite with the ban on
confiscation of property and the expulsion of prince-bishops such as Dornheim, it meant that very
little push for witch hunts remained once conditions had improved.
Emperor Ferdinand II
Imperial Chamber Court in Speyer
Dr Harsee/Dr Schwartzkonz vs William Lamormaini/Count von Furstenberg - Diet of Regensberg
1630
Georg Wilhelm Dumler, former Church administrator
1631 Dr Anton Winter
Feb 1632 King Gustavus Adolphus
Pop Culture and Witchcraft notes + tables Page 4
