Between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there was great turmoil in Europe, both religiously and politically. The rise of the Protestant Reformation – as well as the Catholic Counter-Reformation – lent itself to great divisions within the Church. As wars raged and fledgling nations scrambled for power, many abrupt changes were introduced into European society, most of which went against the traditional ideals accepted at the time. Germany was one of the regions heavily affected by the upheavals: although a majority of the three hundred autonomous territories were under the dominion of the Holy Roman Empire, the region was also home to the Protestant Reformation movement. Politically, the aforementioned autonomous territories were gaining power, while influence of the Holy Roman Empire steadily declined. Due to the flexible and often treacherous social climate caused by these changes, many people in the Germanic lands felt threatened and insecure. It was during this period of instability that the witch-hunts arose. As disasters both natural and manmade piled up, the people looked towards their rulers for explanations; blaming said misfortunes upon witches was a convenient excuse for the leaders. The leaders of the German people, capitalizing on the populace’s ignorance of science and blind piety, established the witch-hunts to quell the belligerence that often arose from the shifting power structures of the time, and use the cathartic release of public executions to distract the citizens from their hardships during the period. Soon, the witch-hunts became more about political leverage – and later, economic benefit – than religion and piety as a whole.
However, German witch-hunts weren’t prevalent until the 1570s.
Rossell Hope Robbins, The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1974), 219. In the period preceding the German witch trials, the German territories adhered to the criminal code of the Holy Roman Empire, the Constitutio Criminalis Carolina. Shortly after the Council of Trent (1563), the Jesuits organized the Catholic Counter Reformation, with the goal of expelling Protestants from the region. It was through this Counter Reformation that witch-hunting was introduced to Germany.
Ibid., 218. According to Article 21 of the Carolina Code of the Holy Roman Empire, “…On mere indictment, no one of those who presume to tell fortunes by sorcery or other magic arts is to be imprisoned or put to torture.”
Ströhmer, Michael. Von Hexen, Ratsherren und Juristen: Die Rezeption der Peinlichen Halsgerichtsordnung Kaiser Karls V. in den frühen Hexenprozessen der Hansestadt Lemgo. 15831621. Paderborn: Bonifatius Buchverlag, 5. In Article 109: “If someone did injury or damage to people through witchcraft, she must be punished from life to death by burning.”
Ibid., 12 Very little was discussed on the verification of statements, or even of legal defenses for the accused, since the Carolina Code declared that confessions made under torture were invalid.
Johannes Janssen, History of the German People After the Close of the Middle Ages (New York: Ams Press, Inc., 1996), 179-180. However, it was always assumed that the accused was guilty, until proven otherwise. While the earliest German witch trials obeyed the edicts within the Code, by the close of the sixteenth century, most courts ignored them in favour of declaring crimen exceptum, which bypassed procedural law and allowed torture without evidence. Under crimen exceptum, confessions obtained through torture were considered valid evidence, and could be used in irrevocably proving the guilt of the accused.
Brian P. Levack, The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe (New York: Longman, 1989), 179-180.
In fact, the use of the crimen exceptum to try witches was a violation of the Carolina Code. There was an existing section of the Code used to try witches: the crimen magiae. However, the usage of the crimen exceptum allowed far more leniency in the trial process; the bypassing of procedural law listed in the Code gave secular courts carte blanche to do anything to extract a confession from a witch. Due to the ever-shifting politics of the region, as well as the fragmented nature of its religion, no single leader was able to prevent the blatant abuse of the judicial system. In Catholic territories, the clergy were of high social rank, and enjoyed many benefits from the Church, like wealth and influence.
G. Benecke, Society and Politics in Germany 1500-1570 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1974), 31. In essence, the only ones that could prevent the abuse of the law were the very ones abusing the law in the first place. However, in the Protestant provinces, anyone could join the ranks of the clergy, as the station was open to anyone who completed a university degree. Because of this kaleidoscopic tangle of religion, politics, and social standing, governments in the Germanic lands were highly inefficient. In order to preserve the peace of society, each territory established their own courts that would serve (and judge) in the best interests of their particular province. Rulers of each individual province would change laws to reflect what they preferred, or believed, and the laws themselves were subject to constant change.
Ibid., 24-26. Because the political and judicial structure was so dynamic, the procedures executed on accused witches would vary between the states, and would even change year-to-year.
Hans Sebald, “Witches’ confessions: Stereotypical structure and local color, the case of the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg,” Southern Humanities Review 24 (1990), 303-304.
In the midst of a frenzied, internal struggle, Germany became the main staging-grounds of the witch trials in Europe. Even as the Protestants and Catholics competed over the faith of the people, they found a unifying cause in the eradication of witchcraft.
Geoffrey Scarre, Witchcraft and Magic in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Europe (Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press International, Inc., 1963), 49., H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972), 30-31. Political leaders saw an advantage in this situation; both quarreling factions agreed on one point, and those leaders in turn incited the witch hysteria to new heights, gaining support and approval from both religious factions.
Scarre, 45-50. Although the witch-trails seemed like an affair under the jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical court, secular courts also tried witches. Between the years of 1561 and 1670, courts executed around 3,229 people in southwestern Germany.
Midelfort, 30-33. The deadliest trials, in fact, took place in Catholic-dominant lands: Mainz, Bamberg, Würzburg, Treves, and Strasbourg. For example, at the Abbey of St. Maximin (near Treves), the ecclesiastical court sentenced the population of two entire villages to death; in another two villages, only two survived the brutal trials of the courts.
Robbins, 219.
Politically, witch-hunts had inflated the power of the local magistrates. Often, persecution and accusation of a “witch” was used to alleviate political hostilities within a community. Political enemies frequently accused one another of witchcraft. Eventually, the fear of witches had gotten to the point where accusations carried equal weight, regardless of source or target. Because of this, the lower class had leverage against the upper class – something they never had before.
Robin Briggs, “Many Reasons Why: Witchcraft and the Problem of Multiple Explanations,” in Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe ed. Jonathan Barry, Marianne Hester, and Gareth Roberts (Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 60. Due to this new ability they had, the common folk and the clergy struggled for power, and clashed viciously with local officials over abuses of power. During trials, various doctors, lawyers, and clerics used their “expertise” in witchcraft to further their own reputations. Some people accused others of witchcraft to demonstrate their dedication to the morals of society and curry favour with secular and religious leaders.
Scarre, 44. The witch-hunts were also used as a scapegoat for natural disasters such as famine and pestilence. Officials refused to admit that they could not really do anything to prevent such misfortunes, and capitalized on that with religion – since God punished sinners, obviously someone had greatly offended God, and that someone must be a witch. Due to this explanation, inept leaders were able to brush off their failures due to the sabotage of witches. In fact, many local publications of the time reflected the views (and excuses) of the leaders. An example would be the Erweytterte Unholden, written in 1590, claimed that the activity of witches in the region was responsible for the famine.
Lehmann, Hartmut, “The Persecution of Witches as Restoration of Order: The Case of Germany, 1590s-1650s,” Central European History 21 (June 1988), 110-111. Because it was so convenient to simply blame problems on witches, the Church and State incited mass hysteria among the populace – there were a lot of witches, who in turn caused a lot of problems. In this mad flurry of accusations and blame, it is not hard to see why the common folk believed that witches were everywhere, and could be anyone. No one was safe from being accused of witchcraft
Sebald, 305.; a ninety-year-old priest was sentenced to death
Robbins, 18.. Barthol Braun, a council member in Bamberg suffered the same fate, along with Johannes Junius, the mayor of Bamberg.
Sebald, 304-305. The trials had escalated to the point where even relatives of the prince-bishop in Würzburg were executed.
Ibid., 305. While one would wonder why such esteemed individuals would fall victim to the trials, it was mostly a matter of political leverage: old priests were effectively outside of the legal system, which mean that they were not under the control of any person. In addition, an older priest did not carry the weight of a younger one, so if a subordinate wished to usurp his position, it would be relatively easy to accuse his superior of witchcraft. Braun and Junius were actually implicated through accusations made by other “witches”. In his letter to his daughter, Junius confides that all the witness testimonies made against him were fake, and most likely tortured out of said witnesses. In the case of the prince-bishop, it was highly speculated that, while his rivals could not directly accuse him of witchcraft, his family was an easier target.
Witches weren’t only persecuted for political and scapegoat reasons alone: many people would profit from a witch-trial. The witch, or the family of the witch, would be required to pay the salaries of all involved in the trials, be they judges, torturers, scribes, physicians, or even attendants. Those who crafted the scaffolds/stakes would profit each time there was an execution. Apart from individual gains, the State could also seize the property of a heretic. In April of 1631, the courts in Bamberg appropriated 500,000 florins (the equivalent of one hundred million dollars today) from executed witches, and 222,000 from a number who were still in jail.
Robbins, 222. Many courts would deliberately seek out wealthy witches to try and execute. In 1592, Father Cornelius Loos pointed out the avarice that drove many persecutions: “Wretched creatures are compelled by the severity of the torture to confess things they have never done and so by cruel butchery innocent lives are taken; and by new alchemy, gold and silver are coined from human blood”
Ibid., 16.. Carol Linden also observes that: “…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; his wife vied with noble dames in the richness of her array.”
Ibid., 16. When the confiscation of property was forbidden, witch hunts, as well as the passion for witch-hunting, started to decline.
The true end to the German “witch craze” came about at the close of the 17th century. Rather than bringing security and peace of mind, the trials only heightened the fear and paranoia in society. The persecution of witches slowly petered out, since the accusations were getting out of hand. The flawed reasoning behind the denouncement system caused a crisis in confidence. At this point, many had begun to turn to the writings of Friedrich Spee, an early dissenter against the witch-hunts. In fact, Spee argued against the use of the crimen exceptum, and pointed out how there was a distinct lack of logic in the processes used in witch-hunts.
Spee, Friedrich. and Marcus Hellyer. Cautio criminalis, or, A book on witch trials. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2003.
As more people aligned themselves with the doubts presented by Spee, the ramifications of the witch hunts started affecting society: the consequences and losses far outweighed the potential economic and political gains. The people had begun to realize that, even though the Church and State executed witches en masse, natural disasters – which the Church and State blamed on said witches – were still happening. Gradually, the leaders of the provinces realized that witches were no longer a valid political excuse. By the early 18th century, many had abandoned the medieval theories and superstitions. As science and confidence in mankind progressed, belief in witches and spirits declined, paving the way to the German Age of Reason.
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