The era of witch persecution began around 1430. In 1484 Pope Innocent VIII issued the bull Summis desiderantes affectibus; afterwards the inquisitors' handbook Malleus Maleficarum ("Hammer of Witches") appeared, according to which the accused were interrogated under torture. The Malleus explains why it is above all women who are witches and prescribes that the accused be stripped, shaved and the torture continued on further days. Persecution was carried out by church and secular courts alike; the last executions in Europe took place at the end of the 18th century. Trials in ecclesiastical principalities are well documented: in Trier, according to an eyewitness, officials pursued the persecution in the hope of riches, and the children of the condemned were banished and dispossessed. In Würzburg children from the age of seven were executed. In Bamberg the tortured burgomaster Junius wrote to his daughter: "innocent must I die."
Deaths
100,000 to several millions(estimated, Britannica estimate of 1911 for the whole of Europe, condemned by church and secular courts, in Catholic and Protestant territories alike)Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911)
„The total number of victims of the witch persecutions is variously estimated at from 100,000 to several millions“
Innocent VIII (Pope) Johannes Junius (burgomaster of Bamberg, tortured and burned as a witch in 1628) Friedrich Spee (Jesuit, critic of the witch trials (Cautio Criminalis)) Cornelius Loos (professor of theology in Trier, imprisoned and forced to recant)
Broadsheet on a witch burning in Derenburg (County of Regenstein), 1555
Image: R. Decker,
Public domain,
SourceTitle page of the "Hammer of Witches" (Malleus maleficarum), Lyon edition of 1669
Image: unbekannt,
Public domain,
Source
What happened to the people
Who was affected? Victims and numbers
In the Valais around 200 alleged witches were executed from 1428 to 1434, in Briançon over 150 in 1437.
Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 15 (1912), Abschnitt zum 15. Jahrhundert
„in the Valais (1428-1434) when 200 witches were put to death, or at Briançon in 1437 when over 150 suffered, some of them by drowning“
Witchcraft, Abschnitt zum 15. Jahrhundert.
Original
As late as 1781 the Inquisition burned a woman in Seville; in 1793 an execution took place in Posen.
Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt zum Ende der Verfolgung
„In Spain a woman was burnt in 1781 at Seville by the Inquisition; the secular courts condemned a girl to decapitation in 1782; in Germany an execution took place in Posen in 1793“
Witchcraft, Abschnitt zum Ende der Verfolgung.
OriginalEvidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 15 (1912), Abschnitt zum Ende der Verfolgung
„in Switzerland a girl was executed for this offence in the Protestant Canton of Glarus in 1783“
Witchcraft, Abschnitt zum Ende der Verfolgung.
Original
In 1911 the Britannica estimated the number of victims at 100,000 to several millions (estimate as of 1911).
Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt zum Ende der Verfolgung
„The total number of victims of the witch persecutions is variously estimated at from 100,000 to several millions“
Witchcraft, Abschnitt zum Ende der Verfolgung.
Original
In the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg in 1629, according to the Prince-Bishop's chancellor, 400 people in the city alone were still under grave suspicion; he saw children of seven and pupils of ten to fifteen executed.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 28 f., Brief des Kanzlers, August 1629
„there are still four hundred in the city, high and low, of every rank and sex, nay, even clerics“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Wurzburg, Burr S. 28 f., Brief des Kanzlers, August 1629.
OriginalEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 29
„I have seen put to death children of seven, promising students of ten, twelve, fourteen, and fifteen“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Wurzburg, Burr S. 29.
Original
In Bonn, the residence of the Archbishops of Cologne, according to the parish priest of Alfter, pupils and boys of nine to fourteen were burned.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 19
„Students and boys of noble birth, of nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen years have been burned“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Bonn, Burr S. 19.
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How were they charged and sentenced?
In the episcopal city of Bamberg in 1628, the 55-year-old burgomaster Johannes Junius was accused of witchcraft, tortured with thumbscrews, leg screws and the strappado and burned after his confession.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 23, Einleitung
„in 1628 there was tried for witchcraft at the episcopal city of Bamberg, in Germany, the Burgomaster Johannes Junius“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Bamberg, Burr S. 23, Einleitung.
OriginalEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 23 f., Prozessprotokoll
„he was put to the torture, and first the [Page 24] Thumb-screws were applied“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Bamberg, Burr S. 23 f., Prozessprotokoll.
OriginalEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 26
„So ended the trial of Junius, and he was accordingly burned at the stake“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Bamberg, Burr S. 26.
Original
This is how the confessions came about: according to the Malleus, the judges interrogated the tortured with set questions and obtained the confessions they wanted to hear. According to the Britannica, these statements, extorted on the rack and with thumbscrews, were afterwards described as voluntary.
Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt „Witchcraft“, Inquisition
„gave them a handbook from which they plied their tortured victims with questions and were able to extract such confessions as they desired; by a strange perversion these admissions, wrung from their victims by rack or thumb-screw, were described as voluntary“
Witchcraft, Abschnitt „Witchcraft“, Inquisition.
Original
The Malleus prescribes to judges how they are to deal with an accused woman: before torture she is stripped in her cell by women. If she does not confess after the torture, further instruments of torture are shown to her so that fear will bring her to confess; if that does not help, the torture is continued on the second or third day. Then the hair is shaved from her whole body.
Evidence: Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Teil 3, Frage 14
„if she is a woman, let her first be led to the penal cells and there stripped by honest women of good reputation“
Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 3, Frage 14 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928), Teil 3, Frage 14.
OriginalEvidence: Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Teil 3, Frage 14
„if after being fittingly tortured she refuses to confess the truth, he should have other engines of torture brought before her, and tell her that she will have to endure these if she does not confess. If then she is not induced by terror to confess, the torture must be continued on the second or third day“
Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 3, Frage 14 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928), Teil 3, Frage 14.
OriginalEvidence: Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Teil 3, Frage 15
„the hair should be shaved from every part of her body“
Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 3, Frage 15 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928), Teil 3, Frage 15.
Original
For the Malleus, the "most certain sign" of a witch was that a woman could not weep under torture; if she did weep, it insinuated that she was only faking tears with spittle.
Evidence: Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Teil 3, Frage 15
„let him take note whether she is able to shed tears when standing in his presence, or when being tortured. For we are taught both by the words of worthy men of old and by our own experience that this is a most certain sign“
Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 3, Frage 15 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928), Teil 3, Frage 15.
OriginalEvidence: Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Teil 3, Frage 15
„she will assume a tearful aspect and smear her cheeks and eyes with spittle to make it appear that she is weeping“
Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 3, Frage 15 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928), Teil 3, Frage 15.
Original
Spee describes how an accused woman became suspect in every case: if she had lived badly, that counted as proof; if she had lived well, likewise, because witches supposedly disguised themselves that way. If she showed fear in prison, that spoke against her; if she showed none, so did that.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 31, Spee, Cautio Criminalis, Zweifel 51, Nr. 10
„Either Gaia has led a bad and improper life, or she has led a good proper one. If a bad one, then, say they, the proof is cogent against her“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 31, Spee, Cautio Criminalis, Zweifel 51, Nr. 10.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 31, Nr. 11
„Either she then shows fear or she does not show it. If she does show it“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 31, Nr. 11.
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According to Spee, nobody was given a defender. Anyone who defended the accused or urged the judges to be cautious fell under suspicion himself. The answers of the accused to the charges were not even written down.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 32, Nr. 15
„in these trials there is granted to nobody an advocate or any means of fair defense“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 32, Nr. 15.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 32, Nr. 17
„this is neither paid attention to nor even noted down“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 32, Nr. 17.
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Before the torture the executioner shaved the whole body of the accused. If she confessed already under the first, "lighter" degree of torture, it was said that she had confessed without torture.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 32, Nr. 19
„she is searched, her whole body being shaved“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 32, Nr. 19.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 33, Nr. 22
„if she confesses, they say and noise it abroad that she has confessed without torture“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 33, Nr. 22.
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Anyone who neither confessed nor died remained in prison in chains, according to Spee perhaps for an entire year "until she is subdued". Clerics pressed the prisoners to confess and threatened that without a confession there would be no salvation and no sacraments.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 34, Nr. 30
„there lies for perhaps an entire year to rot until she is subdued“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 34, Nr. 30.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 34, Nr. 32
„unless she does so, they declare, she simply cannot be saved, nor share in the sacraments“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 34, Nr. 32.
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What happened to those affected?
In one trial two elderly women confessed after repeated torture to having taken part in witches' sabbaths.
Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 15 (1912), Abschnitt zu den Prozessen
„Two of the condemned, both elderly women, after repeated application of torture, confessed that they had assisted at witches' sabbaths“
In Trier the children of the condemned were banished and their property confiscated.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 13, Linden
„The children of those convicted and punished were sent into exile; their goods were confiscated“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Trier, Burr S. 13, Linden.
Original
Junius wrote that with the thumbscrews the blood had run out of his nails and that he could not use his hands for four weeks; eight times he had been hoisted up and dropped.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 26 f., Brief an die Tochter, 24. Juli 1628
„so that the blood ran out at the nails and everywhere, so that for four weeks I could not use my hands“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Bamberg, Burr S. 26 f., Brief an die Tochter, 24. Juli 1628.
OriginalEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 26 f.
„eight times did they draw me up and let me fall again, so that I suffered terrible agony“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Bamberg, Burr S. 26 f..
Original
The Jesuit Friedrich Spee, who knew witch trials from his own experience, denounced in 1631 in his work "Cautio Criminalis" the horrible abuses of the proceedings, particularly the inhuman use of the rack. The book appeared without his name and without permission.
Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Abschnitt zur Cautio Criminalis
„describes in thrilling language and with cutting sarcasm the horrible abuses in the prevailing legal proceedings, particularly the inhuman use of the rack“
Friedrich von Spee, Abschnitt zur Cautio Criminalis.
OriginalEvidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Abschnitt zur Cautio Criminalis
„This work was printed in 1631 at Rinteln without Spee's name or permission“
Friedrich von Spee, Abschnitt zur Cautio Criminalis.
Original
If she did not confess, the torture was repeated, two, three, four times, without any limit on duration or severity. Anyone who still remained silent was burned alive. If someone died under torture, it was said that the devil had broken his neck; the executioner dragged the corpse out and buried it beneath the gallows.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 33, Nr. 25
„the torture is repeated-twice, thrice, four times“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 33, Nr. 25.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 33, Nr. 25
„there is no limit of duration or severity or repetition of the tortures“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 33, Nr. 25.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 33, Nr. 26
„deserves to be burned alive, as lately has been done to some who though several times tortured would not confess“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 33, Nr. 26.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 34, Nr. 28 f.
„they say that her neck has been broken by the Devil“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 34, Nr. 28 f..
Original · Archive copyEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 34, Nr. 29
„the corpse is dragged out by the executioner and buried under the gallows“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 34, Nr. 29.
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Anyone who had confessed in pain had to accuse further people, whose names were often supplied by the interrogators or the executioner. These in turn were forced to make accusations, so that, according to Spee, the trials could never come to an end.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 35, Nr. 36
„whose names are not seldom suggested to her by her examiners or by the executioner“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 35, Nr. 36.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 35, Nr. 36
„These in their turn are forced to accuse others, and these still others“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 35, Nr. 36.
Original · Archive copy
Witness accounts and records
Witness Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis (1631): whether she confesses or not
So, whether she confesses or does not confess, the result is the same.
University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive: George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 33, Nr. 25.
Original · Archive copyWitness Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis (1631): nobody is safe
there is nobody in our day, of whatsoever sex, fortune, rank, or dignity, who is safe, if he have but an enemy and slanderer to bring him into suspicion of witchcraft
University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive: George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 35, Nr. 46.
Original · Archive copyWitness Johannes Junius, letter to his daughter Veronika from the witch prison in Bamberg, 24 July 1628
Innocent have I come into prison, innocent have I been tortured, innocent must I die. For whoever comes into the witch prison must become a witch or be tortured until he invents something out of his head
University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project: George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Bamberg, Burr S. 26.
OriginalWitness Junius on the executioner's advice
"Sir, I beg you, for God's sake confess something, whether it be true or not. Invent something, for you cannot endure the torture which you will be put to
University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project: George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Bamberg, Burr S. 27.
OriginalFrom the case files From the torture record against Junius, Bamberg, 30 June 1628
feels no pain in the thumb-screws. Leg-screws . Will confess absolutely nothing [and] knows nothing about it. He has never renounced God; will never do such a thing; has never been guilty of this vice; feels likewise no pain. Is stripped and examined; on his right side is found a bluish mark, like a clover leaf, is thrice pricked therein, but feels no pain and no blood flows out. Strappado .
University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project: George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Bamberg, Burr S. 24.
OriginalWitness The chancellor of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg in a letter, August 1629
A week ago a maiden of nineteen was executed, of whom it is everywhere said that she was the fairest in the whole city, and was held by everybody a girl of singular modesty and purity. She will be followed by seven or eight others of the best and most attractive persons
University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project: George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Wurzburg, Burr S. 29.
Original
Background
Course of events
According to the Britannica, the era of witch persecution began around 1430 and ended only in the 17th or even 18th century.
Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt „Witchcraft“, Gliederung der Epochen
„from 1430 onwards the previously disparate conceptions became fused, at any rate in literature, and we reach the period of witch persecution, which did not come to an end till the 17th or even the 18th century“
Witchcraft, Abschnitt „Witchcraft“, Gliederung der Epochen.
Original
In 1484 Pope Innocent VIII issued the bull Summis desiderantes affectibus; it was followed by the Malleus Maleficarum as the inquisitors' handbook, with which they extorted the desired confessions from tortured victims.
Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt „Witchcraft“
„the Malleus Maleficarum or Inquisitor's Manual (1489), following closely on the important bull Summis desiderantes affectibus (Innocent VIII., 1484), gave them a handbook from which they plied their tortured victims with questions and were able to extract such confessions as they desired“
The Catholic Encyclopedia denies that the bull was responsible for the witch mania of the following two centuries.
Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 15 (1912), Abschnitt zur Bulle
„the importance attached by many older writers to the Bull, "Summis desiderantes affectibus", of Pope Innocent VIII (1484), as though this papal document were responsible for the witch mania of the two succeeding centuries, is altogether illusory“
Secular courts also prosecuted witchcraft with equal or greater severity, with torture and burning.
Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 15 (1912), Abschnitt zum Mittelalter
„the secular courts proceeded against witchcraft with equal or even greater severity than the ecclesiastical tribunals, and here also torture was employed and burning at the stake“
The persecution raged with particular violence in the territory of the Prince-Archbishop of Trier. According to the eyewitness Linden, a canon in Trier, accusers, inquisitors, notaries and judges travelled through every place in the diocese and burned people of both sexes in great numbers; hardly any of the accused escaped.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 13, Linden, Gesta Trevirorum
„One of the fiercest was that which raged in the dominions of the Elector-Archbishop of Trier“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Trier, Burr S. 13, Linden, Gesta Trevirorum.
OriginalEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 13, Linden, Gesta Trevirorum
„dragging to trial and torture human beings of both sexes and burning them in great numbers. Scarcely any of those who were accused escaped punishment“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Trier, Burr S. 13, Linden, Gesta Trevirorum.
Original
The professor of theology Cornelius Loos, who wrote against the persecution in Trier, was imprisoned on the orders of the papal nuncio and had to recant before the assembled church dignitaries in 1593; his book was confiscated at the printer's.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 14 f.
„the manuscript was seized in the hands of the printer, and Loos himself thrown into prison. Thence he was brought out, in the spring of 1593, and, before the assembled church dignitaries of the place, pronounced a solemn recantation“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Trier, Burr S. 14 f..
OriginalEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 15, Widerruf des Loos
„by order of the Most Reverend and Most Illustrious Lord, the Papal Nuncio“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Trier, Burr S. 15, Widerruf des Loos.
Original
Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)
According to Linden, the persecution in Trier was pursued by many officials who hoped to gain wealth from it; he speaks of greed for blood and booty.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 13, Linden
„This movement was promoted by many in office, who hoped wealth from the persecution“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Trier, Burr S. 13, Linden.
OriginalEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 13, Linden
„in this thirst for blood and booty“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Trier, Burr S. 13, Linden.
Original
The Jesuit Spee wrote that the superstition, envy and calumny that first gave rise to suspicions of witchcraft were widespread among Germans and "especially among Catholics" and were neither punished by the authorities nor refuted from the pulpit.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 30, Nr. 1
„especially (I blush to say it) among Catholics are the popular superstition, envy, calumnies, backbitings, insinuations“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 30, Nr. 1.
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Who received the assets, who profited?
Notaries, clerks and innkeepers grew rich; the executioner rode a fine horse and went about dressed in gold and silver. Only when the people were impoverished and fees were limited did the zeal of the persecutors flag.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 13, Linden
„Meanwhile notaries, copyists, and innkeepers grew rich. The executioner rode a blooded horse, like a noble of the court, and went clad in gold and silver“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Trier, Burr S. 13, Linden.
OriginalEvidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project, Burr S. 14, Linden
„the people grew impoverished, rules were made and enforced restricting the fees and costs of examinations and examiners, and suddenly, as when in war funds fail, the zeal of the persecutors died out“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Trier, Burr S. 14, Linden.
Original
According to Spee, the commissioners (inquisitors) appointed earned money from the trials: they received a fixed sum for every person burned and were additionally allowed to collect fees from the peasants.
Evidence: University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive, Burr S. 31, Nr. 8
„there is granted him as salary so many dollars per head for each witch burned, besides the fees and assessments which he is allowed to extort at will from the peasants“
George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631), Burr S. 31, Nr. 8.
Original · Archive copy
The two largest witch hunts in south-western Germany took place in Ellwangen and Mergentheim; there the rulers confiscated property of the executed, in Mergentheim on average one seventh of the estate. The heirs lost this share.
Evidence: ABC-CLIO (2006), Abdruck im Repositorium der Iowa State University, Artikel „Confiscations of Witches’ Property“
„The two largest witch hunts, however, occurred in places that did: Ellwangen and Mergentheim“
William Monter, Confiscations of Witches’ Property, in: Richard M. Golden (Hg.), Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition, Bd. 1, S. 207 f., Artikel „Confiscations of Witches’ Property“.
OriginalEvidence: ABC-CLIO (2006), Abdruck im Repositorium der Iowa State University, Artikel „Confiscations of Witches’ Property“
„at Mergentheim, the average was only one-seventh (14 percent)“
William Monter, Confiscations of Witches’ Property, in: Richard M. Golden (Hg.), Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition, Bd. 1, S. 207 f., Artikel „Confiscations of Witches’ Property“.
Original
In the secular Duchy of Lorraine the confiscations served above all to cover the costs of trial and execution from the property of the condemned.
Evidence: ABC-CLIO (2006), Abdruck im Repositorium der Iowa State University, Artikel „Confiscations of Witches’ Property“
„the government's major goal was to recover the costs of a witch's trial and execution“
William Monter, Confiscations of Witches’ Property, in: Richard M. Golden (Hg.), Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition, Bd. 1, S. 207 f., Artikel „Confiscations of Witches’ Property“.
Original
Original texts
Original text Malleus Maleficarum, Part 1, Question 6: why above all women
since they are feebler both in mind and body, it is not surprising that they should come more under the spell of witchcraft
Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive: Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 1, Frage 6 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928), Teil 1, Frage 6.
OriginalOriginal text Malleus Maleficarum, Part 1, Question 6: on woman
What else is woman but a foe to friendship, an unescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic danger, a delectable detriment, an evil of nature, painted with fair colours!
Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive: Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 1, Frage 6 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928), Teil 1, Frage 6 (Zitat nach Johannes Chrysostomus).
OriginalOriginal text Malleus Maleficarum, Part 3, Question 14: stripping before torture
While the officers are preparing for the questioning, let the accused be stripped; or if she is a woman, let her first be led to the penal cells and there stripped by honest women of good reputation.
Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive: Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 3, Frage 14 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928), Teil 3, Frage 14.
OriginalOriginal text Malleus Maleficarum, Part 3, Question 14: continuing the torture
If then she is not induced by terror to confess, the torture must be continued on the second or third day
Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive: Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 3, Frage 14 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928), Teil 3, Frage 14.
OriginalOriginal text Malleus Maleficarum, Part 3, Question 14: deception with the promise of life
that she be sentenced to imprisonment for life on bread and water, provided that she supply evidence which will lead to the conviction of other witches. And she is not to be told, when she is promised her life, that she is to be imprisoned in this way
Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive: Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 3, Frage 14 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928), Teil 3, Frage 14.
OriginalOriginal text Malleus Maleficarum, Part 3, Question 15: shaving the whole body
The third precaution to be observed in this tenth action is that the hair should be shaved from every part of her body.
Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive: Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 3, Frage 15 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928), Teil 3, Frage 15.
Original
Historical source (contemporary text)
University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Internet Sacred Text Archive: George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Methods of the Witch-Persecutions (Friedrich Spee, Cautio Criminalis, 1631).
Original · Archive copy(retrieved 12 Oct 2026)
Historical source (contemporary text)
University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project: George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Trier.
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Historical source (contemporary text)
University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project: George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Bamberg.
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Historical source (contemporary text)
University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project: George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Wurzburg.
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Historical source (contemporary text)
University of Pennsylvania, History Department; Hanover Historical Texts Project: George L. Burr (Hg.), The Witch Persecutions, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Bd. 3, Nr. 4: The Witch Persecution at Bonn.
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Historical source (contemporary text)
Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive: Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 1, Frage 6 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928).
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Historical source (contemporary text)
Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive: Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 3, Frage 14 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928).
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Historical source (contemporary text)
Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) und Jakob Sprenger; Internet Sacred Text Archive: Malleus Maleficarum, Teil 3, Frage 15 (engl. Übersetzung Montague Summers, 1928).
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Scholarly literature and reference works
Reference work
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912): Friedrich von Spee, 1 January 1912.
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Scholarly literature
ABC-CLIO (2006), Abdruck im Repositorium der Iowa State University: William Monter, Confiscations of Witches’ Property, in: Richard M. Golden (Hg.), Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition, Bd. 1, S. 207 f..
Original(retrieved 12 Oct 2026)
Reference work
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 15 (1912): Witchcraft, 1 January 1912.
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Reference work
Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): Witchcraft, 1 January 1911.
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
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