The Bamberg Witch Hunt, 1623-32

• How did the arrival of the Swedish Army in 1633 contribute to the end of the witch craze?

  -The Protestant army, led by King Gustavus Adolphus, was 150,000 strong.-The population of Bamberg had decreased 40% during the war and so was easy to defeat.-Von Dornheim fled due to fear of the army's arrival in February 1632.-Despite the power of Protestantism, Catholics could continue celebrations and Jesuits could continue to preach.-All trials and to be done under enforcement from the Carolina Law Code.
• How did Georg Wilhelm Dümler point out the miscarriage of the Carolina Law Code?

  -Carolina Law Code allowed the defendant to have the right to a lawyer but this wasn't enforced in Bamberg.-In Bamberg, cases were not heard in civil courts but behind closed doors.
• How was Georg Wilhelm Dümler's letter limited in stopping the witch craze?

  Von Dornheim refused to leave Bamberg until the Swedish army arrived and refused to release those in custody.
• How did Georg Wilhelm Dumler's letter contribute to the end of the witch craze?

  -Dumler wrote to Emperor Ferdinand II saying that well-respected people had been accused and the hunters were corrupt. -His wife had been tortured until she miscarried and was then executed. -He had then been accused but was a pious Catholic.-In 1631, Ferdinand appointed a new witch commissioner and decreed the enforcement of Carolina Law Code. He then banned property confiscations.
• How was the involvement of Ferdinand II in the case of Dorothea Flock in 1630 limited in stopping the witch craze?

  -Von Dornheim had the trial rushed and she was executed.-The case went against Carolina Law Code and was conducted in secret. there were no true witnesses and the confession was only due to torture.-Nothing happened to Von Dornheim after this, suggesting Ferdinand had other concerns.
• How did Ferdinand II's involvement in the 1630 case of Dorothea Flock contribute to the end of the witch craze?

  -Georg Heinrich Flock, a Bamberg councillor, fled after accusation but his wife Dorothea Flock was arrested.-Flock dispatched a letter to Ferdinand complaining about Von Dornheim's illegal trials.-Flock appealed to Ferdinand and the Pope as she had just had a baby. -They told Von Dornheim to end the trials and send all documents to the emperor or he would be punished.
• How was the interest of the Imperial Chamber Court limited in stopping the witch craze?

  -Von Dornheim replied to Ferdinand's letter with court documents, but it transpired that these were fakes.-Von Dornheim claimed that no one had been arrested since due 1630, yet Ferdinand found out that 25 witches had in fact been arrested.-Nothing physical was ever done by the court to prevent the hunt.
• How did the Imperial Court's involvement contribute to the end of the witch craze?

  -The Imperial Court was the highest judicial court in the HRE.-At the Diet of Regenburg (a meeting of the senior HRE leaders), officials said Ferdinand's reputation was being tarnished by the illegality of the Bamberg trials, and the extent of persecutions.-Ferdinand wrote to Von Dornheim about his blatant disregard of imperial decrees over the Barbara Schwarz case and over-zealous use of torture.
• How was increased scepticism not relevant to the end of the witch craze?

  People realised Von Dornheim's 1628 proclamation was a reactionary response as witch hunters including Förner were accused of giving false testimonies.
• How did an increase in scepticism contribute to the end of the witch craze?

  -In 1627, there were complaints that innocent people were being tried.-In 1628, Von Dornheim issued a proclamation stating that people giving false testimonies would be flogged.-A Jesuit college in Trier and Jesuits in Würzburg both claimed that many of the witches were innocent.-The Caution Criminalis, published in 1631 in Hamelin, had a considerable impact.
• Förner was


  indispensable to Von Dornheim
• How was Förner arguably more important to the witch craze than Von Dornheim?

  -He provided the intellectual framework for the trials.-He argued that Calvinist preachers taught lies about Catholic clergy and that 'witches' were more common in Catholic societies as Protestant ones were already impure.-He believed that, the closer he came to defeating the Devil, the more violent he would become and more witches would be common.
• Who was Frederick Förner?

  -Von Dornheim's deputy, also a strong advocate of the Counter-Reformation.-University graduate and he held a lot of important hierarchical positions in churches and the administration of Bamberg. -He was involved in the trials before Aschhausen (he gave Aschhausen's funeral sermon) and blamed Protestantism for the Thirty Years War.
• Describe the role of Von Dornheim in the witch craze.

  -Champion of the Counter-Reformation.-Hired Förner and a legal advisor, Ernst Vasolt.-Property confiscations increased the Treasury's wealth as well as his ownhis personal wealth, providing a motivation for maintaining the trials.-Constructed in 1627, his Drudenhaus could house 40 suspects. Its walls were covered in Biblical extracts.
• Proof that property confiscations were important to maintaining the witch hunt


  The Mayor of Bamberg was kept in prison for three years to extract as much money out of him as possible and the 100,000 florins confiscated from him was 1/5 of the total.
• How did property confiscations contribute to the escalation of the witch craze?

  -They encouraged the persecution of the upper classes, who were kept in prison for as long as possible.-The trials paid for themselves as the victims were responsible for court costs, travel costs and their own executions. -This created an industry for witch hunting.-The profits of lawyers, coachmen, rope makers, blacksmiths and tavern owners increased.-As people entered prison, they had their property confiscated, this totalled 500,000 florins.
• How did the Bamberg authorities maintain power over confessions?

  They established 101 questions to be asked during interrogation. Almost all confessions included reference to a baptism with the Devil and also blasphemy.
• How did torture contribute to the escalation of the witch craze?

  -Torture methods included thumbscrews, strappado, burning of hair, whipping, salting of food, spikes on floor and sleep deprivation-Previous mayor John Junius experienced brutal torture. He smuggled out a letter to his daughter which describes his torture in vivid detail. Torture caused his confession.-Torture caused almost everyone to confess
• Significance of the Carolina Law Code of 1532 on torture

  -The Carolina Law Code of 1532 allowed for an extensive range of torture methods. -Von Dornheim used the Law Code in his construction of his Drudenhaus in central Bamberg.-It gave judicial freedom to Von Dornheim.
• Reasons why the witch hunt was so extensive

  -Motivations of individuals-Use of torture-Property confiscations-Thirty Years War
• How did hereditary guilt contribute to accusations and convictions?

  -There was hereditary guilt involved, patterns emerged as fathers were initially executed, then followed by wives and daughters -The case of Georg Hann is an example. -It enabled people to prove the father's guilt.
• How did class affect the people accused?

  -High-status individuals were also accused e.g. John Junius, Mayor of Bamberg, and the Mayor of Zeil, Hans Langhans.-Around half of those accused in Zeil were officials or their relatives. At least 20 relatives of town councillors were found guilty.-This was due to the belief that officials who opposed the trials were involved themselves.-The rich who lived on the Lang Gasse, the main street in Bamberg, were often accused.
• Which age demographics were affected by the trials?

  -Average age of women was 33.-Most men were middle-aged. One 9-year-old boy confessed to using a demon for killing livestock.
• Where did the trials start?

  In Zeil in 1626 where 59 people were charged. The trials spread to Bamberg in 1627.
• Describe the torture and what was revealed in the confession of Bürgermeister John Junius.

  -Was tortured intensively with thumb-screws, leg-screws, strappado, stripping and being pricked for the Devil's mark.-He was given the witch name Krix and was provided with a familiar named Vixen. -He attended a Black Mass at which Beezlebub, the demon, made an appearance.-He had been asked to kill his children in their name, but refused.
• Evidence for inflation and economic crisis being key to witch hunting in Bamberg?

  -Veronica, the daughter of the mayor of Bamberg John Junius suggested in her memoirs that inflation was key to the trials.-Margaretha Gussbachberin prostituted herself to a man to free herself from poverty, which was interpreted as a diabolical pact.
• How did inflation and economic crises contribute to the witch craze?

  -The authorities had little choice but to raise taxes during war time, despite debt being 800,000 florins by its end.-Silver from America had been well-supplied until 1610 so copper was used instead. -Gold florin was losing value and the price of goods increased. People saw witchcraft as the explanation. -Those accused in Bamberg were more likely to live along trade routes as they were likely to get involved in disputes with neighbours.
• How did weather and crop failures contribute to the witch craze?

  -The early 17th century coincided with a 'Little Ice Age', a period of unsettled weather.-In the confession of Katharina Merckhlerin in 1626, she admitted that she had been part of the plot to freeze and destroy all of Bamberg's crops. -A number of other trials made reference to weather and poor harvests.
• What are the two economic factors which contributed to the witch craze?

  -Weather and crop failures.-Inflation and economic costs.
• How have some historians argued that the Thirty Years War did not have anything to do with witch hunting in Bamberg?


  The presence of war diverted attention from witch hunting on to the war itself. This is proven by the fact that as soon as the war arrived in Bamberg, the hunts stopped.
• What is the political context of the witch hunts in Bamberg?

  -The presence of large armies had a devastating impact on Bamberg.-Famine was caused as a result of soldiers requisitioning food.-Villages were plundered for supplies, young boys were forcibly conscripted by both sides. -Crop failures and inflation led to an increased fear of witches.-Women whose sexual behaviour deviated from that expected of the Catholic Church were targeted (Protestants believed that women should not necessarily be celibate).-People whose political views towards the war deviated from Catholic patriotism were targeted.
• When was the Defenestration of Prague and what happened?

  -1618-Catholic regency agents of Bohemia were thrown out of windows.-Created hatred of Protestants
• What is the political context of the witch hunts in Germany as a whole?

  -Thirty Years War (1618-48). The origins of the war lay both in the religious divisions found in northern Europe and the ambitions of the Habsburg monarchy in Moravia and Bohemia, where Protestants became bitter as a result of Counter-Reformation policies. -German states became embroiled in the war.-By the end of the war, over 1/3 of the German population was wiped out.
• Describe the religious context of the Bamberg witch trials.

  -Rise of Protestantism in Germany created division.-In 1548, it was decided that the religion of the emperor would be the religion of the people.-Catholics, Calvinists and Lutherans lived side-by-side.-Catholic regions ruled by prince bishops were the most extensive witch hunters.-The Counter-Reformation contributed to belief of Protestants as Devil-worshippers.-Habsburg Catholic emperors were keen to support the Jesuit order and encouraged shrines and Catholic worship.
• An example of Johann Gottfried von Aschhausen's zeal for the witch hunts

  Lena Pantzerin was accused in 1612 and an outsider named Trill was brought in to help interrogate her. This led to many more being accused.
• Describe the first witch trials under Johann Gottfried Von Aschhausen.

  -In 1610, Von Aschhausen ordered an investigation where any person practising magic would be severely punished. This coincided with Protestant rebellions in Bohemia.-In 1611, Pre-Christian pagan activities were reported at an old shrine. Protestant preachers were being harboured, thus enhancing the connection between Protestantism and witchcraft.
• How many witches did Johann Gottfried von Aschhausen have executed?

  300
• Between 1609 and 1622 how did Johann Von Aschhausen contribute to the religious context of the witch craze?


  -When he became prince bishop in 1609, he prioritised the conversion of his Protestant parishes to Catholicism. -Fines imposed on Protestant parishes.-Dissidents sent into exile.-Lutherans rounded up and arrested.-Invited Jesuits to settle in Bamberg and founded Catholic schools.-Sent Protestant priests to prisons known as 'Priests' Vaults'.
• Why was the witch craze so intense in Germany?

  -The political and judicial authority was disrupted due to the Thirty Years War.-The context of war meant that panic and fear could easily grip the populace.-The Jesuits were created in 1540. These were a sect of very strong Catholics and they were heavily involved in the Bamberg case.
• What was the significance of the Counter-Reformation?

  -The Counter-Reformation was the gaining back of Catholic power in Europe after the Reformation.-It was supported by the Prince Bishops and gained momentum from the Jesuit order. -It made a connection between Protestantism and witchcraft.-Von Aschausen supported the Counter-Reformation and made it a priority for him.