Causes in Germany

• How many states were in the Holy Roman Empire?


  400 states
• The Holy Roman Empire was fragmented into different states which were supposed to be under the loose control of the Holy Roman Emperor.
• It was the birthplace of the Reformation, and saw the strongest counter reformation by the Catholic Church. Luther's new Protestant creed could not be contained as had previous 'heresies'. Catholic Church did win some territories back to the faith with the help of the new Jesuit order. Uncertainty in religious matters didn't encourage stability. Easily , the territories affiliation could change overnight
• How many states spoke German?

  300 out of the 400
• Lack of central control relating to the operation of the law (judicial operation). There were 2000 different legal jurisdictions in the empire, there were no court of appeal and no mechanism for ensuring compliance to the Carolina legal code. Local courts had excessive autonomy in practice.
• When was the Carolina legal code brought in?

  1532
• Mini ice-age during the years 1590 and 1630 caused crops to fail, stores to root and people to go hungry
• The 30 years war between 1618-1648 caused the death of adult men and labour shortages through conscription. Lone women struggled to fit into the societal expectations and struggled to support themselves and families. Supplying armies with food led to high taxation and burdens on the population. Begging women accuses of witchcraft.
• What was the ratio men to women during this period?

  1 : 3
• Plague and disease affected the region sporadically and it was seen as inexplicable. Blamed on outside groups, in the middle ages Jews were often blamed for outbreaks.
• Trier 1587 - 1594: struggle for power

  • Prince Bishop - Johann von Schonenberg
  • conflict with town council
  • personal animosities may have played a role in some of the accusations
• Trier 1587 - 1594: Greed

  • saw poorer, older women convicted BUT also richer and noble individuals
  • land confiscated of the wealthy to improve the Bishop's wealth
• Trier 1587-1594: the role of the community

  • people convinced witches were bringing misfortune onto the community
  • special village committee to coordinate hunts
  • shows pressure from BELOW
• Trier 1587-1594: weather and social pressures

  • catastrophic weather events
  • 'mini-ice age', unseasonable hailstorms
  • damaged the wine vines that are key to the local economy
  • blamed witches
• How many were killed in Trier and the surrounding area?


  1000
• Trier 1587-1594: individual contributions

  • Suffragan Bishop Peter Binsfeld - pursued witches with enthusiasm - added by the new Jesuit college who took in some orphans
  • orphans said that Dr Dietrich Flade (former councillor and against witch trials) of being a witch
• What was the total death toll in Wurzburg 1626-1630?


  900
• Who was persecuted in Wurzburg?


  children, women and men
• Wurzburg 1626 - 1630: economic hardship

  • poor weather conditions = harmful agricultural output and leaving food in scarce supply
  • suffering war and plague effects
  • 'inexplicable disasters' and men fighting in the 30 year war --> high levels of women and food levels needed to increase
  • witchcraft - scapegoat
• Wurzburg 162-1630: (individual contributions)

  • Prince Bishop Ehrenberg - most intense and extensive witch hunts
  • authorities inclined the pursue of witches
  • didn't protect his own family
  • his own nephew was a victim
• Bamberg 1626-1631: (economic hardship)

  • adverse weather - cold temperatures, late frosts and excessive rainfall affected the productivity
  • close to Wurzburg so suffered with similar conditions -- plague and war also
• Bamburg 1626 - 1631: (Accusations)

  • initially appear to have been made in the wider community
  • inexplicable misfortune = scape goat
  • those incharge were keen on pursuing witches
  • Prince - Bishop Johann von Dornheim --> enormous power in the church and state
  • desire to create a Godly state - devised a network of informants to capture as many witches
  • he had considerable influence
• What did Dornheim create in 1627 and what did it do?


  Drudenhaus Witches' Prison, torture chamber that could hold 40 people
• Bamburg 1626-1631: (Greed)

  • 1631 - property confiscated property of witches
  • netted the administration some 722 00 Florins - high value gold coins
• Bamburg 1626-1631: (religious zeal)

  • Suffragan Bishop Friedrich Forner was leader of the Counter-Reformation in Germany
  • reassert the Catholic Church
  • avid witch-hunter and published his sermons
• Cologne 1626-1634:

  • most extreme witch - hunt in German territory
  • wretched women burnt as witches even in 1636
• Cologne 1626-1634: (economic hardship)

  • serious of devasting crop failures
  • thirty year war
  • diseases
• Cologne 1626-1634: (individual contributions)

  • Prince Bishop Ferdinand - ruled over Cologne from 1612-1625 nothing happened for the first 15 years of his reign
  • adverse weather affected his community - he became willing to witch-hunt
  • as a young man he lived in Trier -- influenced his experiences
  • appointed commissioner - terrorised the local community
• Thirty Years War:

  • The Holy Roman Empire = centre of the reformation in Europe
  • Bamberg was on the border between Catholic and Protestant districts = exterminating witches was seen as stopping the spread of heresy
  • uncertainty caused by the war and the changing of religion when armies took over could be seen as a cause for witch trials in Germany, as the need for a scape – goat to blame issues on, which could’ve been witches
  • major witch-trials took place 10 years into the war. This could be seen as peaking at the same time as the counter reformation peaking in political zenith in Germany
• Thirty Years War: pt 2

  • most trials and executions took place in areas that were not directly affected by war, however this could be due to fear of attacks or indirect impacts such as crops being destroyed
  • 1631, military operations became the most destructive with direct pillaging, killing and maiming in villages. Armies would destroy crops and this would cause the economies of villages to plummet due to them depending on agriculture.
  • very little influence on German witch trials as when war occurs, inhabitants come together
• Mini Ice Age:

  • Temperatures dropped by as much as 3°c in Central Europe and was likely the result of volcanic dust in the atmosphere and a decrease in sun spot activity.
  • This caused difficulty in farming, which was the main source of food and or the economy during this time
  • main spikes in the mini ice age between 1458-1552 and 1600-1720 appear to align with the increase in witch hunts in Europe, it doesn’t explain why some countries had a significantly larger number of hunts than others.
• Plague:

  • Didn't understand germ theory or what was causing the plagues - saw is as a curse or punishment from God
  • outbreak of the bubonic plague, city officials in Geneva, Switzerland blamed sorcerers and witches
  • particularly old women on the fringes of society who relied on begging or handouts; were convenient scapegoats, both as there was no one to defend them, but also because they were seen as a burden on the community,
  • ergot poisoning - food becoming moldy due to the cold conditions
• Trier Witch-Hunt (1581-93)

  • Religion – Jesuit college enthusiastically supported Binsfeld. From 1585 – kept in custody
  • Individuals – Archbishop Johann Schoneburg – loyalty to Jesuit Village committees
  • Individual – Binsfield – influential book – believed in torture 
  • Structure – Germany was not unified – territories and states, possibly arose from this structure as it caused political instability Rulers- used witch hunts to use power 
  • bad harvests (only 2 years of good harvests)
  • Consequences – 368 killed (burned alive) -1/3 were rich --> neighboring monasteries included == 1000 deaths  
• Wurzburg Witch – Hunt 1616-18 then 1626-30

  • Individuals – Prince Bishop Echter – used witch hunts to enforce religion 300 witches killed, Ehrenberg killed many – nephew (atypical victim) and children were killed (Julius Spital – hospital/orphanage --> get rid of orphans as they were a drain on the state, hereditary witch craft)
  • Beliefs – Echter – women prey to devil – lustful, counter reformation
  • Structures – Bishopric = large, solidify power, weak administration carolina
  • Triggers – poor harvests, faming (1600, 1616, 1625) 150 citisens complained about witch craft – 30 yr war.
• Bamberg Witch-hunt 1616-22 then 1626-30  

  • Individuals – Dornheim – prince bishop1623 – 1627 Drudenhaus witches’ prison – torture chamber 
  • Beliefs – small Catholic, anti-protestant – Changes by Johann Gottfriend. Hunts under Dornheim  
  • Structures- witch commission – couldn't criticize, informants (active process in looking for witches), acquisition of wealth  
  • Triggers - religious instability (30 years war) - 800k in debt, crop failures in mini ice ag led to famine 
• Limited Central Control:

  • not a unified country
  • seperate territories and principalities
  • central legal code with the Carolina 1532
  • witches were pursued by the authorities