1. Prologue
a. Ursula Gotz was called “You shitty witch!” by Hundersinger’s wife because she blamed Ursula for the death of several of her animals and because of this she faced a four year trial that sent her to her death
i. Gotz was born and raised in the smithy were she helped her brother and nephew (both widowers)
ii. Ursula was blamed by her nephew for the partial paralysis of his daughter who she took care of
iii. She supposedly caused her maid to grow sick and die
iv. Gotz confessed to being a witch once threatened with torture and a criminal trial
v. Federlin (“Little Feather”) was her personal devil whom she had met thirty years before- he was dressed as a farm servant and came into her bed and after a week she agreed to have sex with him and signed the pact that made her the devil’s servant
vi. She was saved a burning at the stake and was beheaded
b. Those accused of witchcraft were often old, had spent years caring for others, raising children and on whose house keeping the community depended on- all this caring for made attention from these women seemed “malign”
c. Giving of small gifts could seem suspect
d. Witchcraft supposedly ran in the blood
e. Ursula Gotz said two other women were her accomplices- they were burned at the stake
f. Often victims and interrogators gradually, over a prolonged time, which would reveal the Satan drama beneath their everyday actions
g. Young women, children, and men also found themselves accused
h. Over the coarse of the witch hunt more then 50,000 died
i. Germany had the most executions- about 25,000
j. Old women targeted because they probably wanted to affect the fertility of others since they weren’t fertile anymore
k. Ursula Gotz’s story was a demonic cliché
l. People were inclined to see threats against fertility everywhere
m. “Alongside demography, any explanation of the witch hunt has to consider factors such as the willingness of the authorities to prosecute, the legal framework he role of individual witch-hunters, and the particular features of the phenomenon of mass witch-hunting”
n. Imagination played a large role
o. Witches had “Devil’s mark” – darkened mole or lump, she defecated when “witch smoke” was lit, and she had a lot of sex
p. “The harm witches were believed to accomplish was directed principally against pregnant women, babies, children, and fertility in the natural world”
q. Midwives in particular could be witches
r. Reasons witch craze ended:
i. People started to doubt confessions given during torture
ii. Shocked by means of execution and torture
iii. New scientific and intellectual idea
iv. Some places were “cauterized” by major witch hunts
v. Changes in law
vi. Change in what people feared
2. Part 1 –
a. Chapter 1 – Persecution
i. Most mass persecutions took place in land ruled by Catholic prince-bishops
ii. Jesuits saw themselves as fighting against agents of Satan
iii. Period from 1550-1650- epoch of witch craze (Peak in the 1580s and 1590ss)
iv. 75-80% if executed were women
v. The forces of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation confronting each other directly created a moral fundamentalism that saw the devils work everywhere
vi. Baroque period- from the Catholicism of the Counter Reformation to its climax
vii. Cabinets of curiosities- collections of rocks, crystals, objects from the New World- collections by Princes and intellectuals
viii. “Little Ice Age”- late 16thc- 1630- caused bad harvest
ix. Carolina- the Imperial Law Code (created by Charles X) provided legal framework for witch hunt but only gave “ barest skeleton” for trail procedure= before torture could occur had to show they had committed harm and said that witches deserved burning at the stake
x. Nicolas Remy (1530-1612) responsible for the death of over 800 people- had “sadistic impulses against women but had empathy”
xi. Witch hunters and executioners corresponded with each other
xii. Prince-bishops (only 9 of them) responsible for 6,000 deaths
xiii. Julius Echter of Mespellrunn- “saw women as especially prey to the Devil’s wiles and who believed female lust could undermine social and religious order; indeed, could destroy Christendom itself”
xiv. Princes could occur in enclosed institutions- especially covenants- so even clergy convicted and burned
xv. Belief in witches did not stop after Great Trials did
xvi. Men were victims more often in great crazes – less pattern among them compared to women
xvii. In villages witches attacked fertility of all nature while in towns they mostly caused harm to people (especially midwives)
xviii. Protestants as well as Catholics engaged in witch-hunt
xix. Witch hunt was “a collective endeavor”
xx. Protestants and Catholics saw witch hunt as an extension of their normal endeavors in their fight against Satan and they took “similar lines” against witches
xxi. Witchcraft belief was often connected to old beliefs about Jews (such as killing children for blood)
xxii. It was common for churches dedicated to Mary to be built on site of old synagogue
b. Chapter 2 – Interrogation and Torture
i. The rack was often used on accused witches normal for 15-30 minute intervals
ii. Would be suspended from rack by arms tied behind her back and weights added to feet
iii. Torture would continue till a long, detailed narrative about her life with the Devil had been given
iv. Torture “allowed her to escape the power of the Devil” pg 45
v. Thought confessions good for the witches because it could allow reconciliation with church
vi. Anything admitted under torture had to be confirmed later
vii. Witch confessions involved so much life stories that profiles could be made from them
viii. Thought Devil would help them not confess under torture
ix. Thumb screws usually used 1st especially for women
x. Leg screws also used
xi. Torture on the bench = tying to bench and whipping
xii. Degrees of Torture- (often not followed) – 1st- show instruments of torture and order confession
xiii. Every executioner had own style and instruments of choice
xiv. Also had psychological torture (long period locked away in dark) – often would receive “advise” from jailers about what to say
xv. Women who died due to torture but didn’t confess still considered witches and were buried as such
xvi. Some women managed not to confess and their persecutors let them go believing they were innocent
xvii. Usual trial lasted 6 weeks but could take months of even years
xviii. “There was always more to find out about the Devil” pg 51
xix. Didn’t stop until she had told everything she knew- not just after confession
xx. Skepticism was present throughout witch hunt
xxi. Confession has to convince interrogator
xxii. Hangman wore bright clothing in contrast to the interrogators black clothing
xxiii. Hangmen had to try and find witch marks on women’s bodies- threat of this could make them confess because they didnt want to be polluted
xxiv. Hangmen “could pollute by his very touch”- pg 53
xxv. Some witches tried to think of the pain they dealt with as a sharing of Jesus’ suffering
xxvi. Some felt God had abandoned them- which convinced the women they were damned
xxvii. “The interrogator’s role was like that of a priestly confessor” pg 57
xxviii. Sexual component to interrogation- possible masturbation, rape, or torture of/ around genitals, undress women to find devil’s mark
xxix. It only took a few “gruesome accounts” to keep a witch craze going or to start one- pg 61
xxx. Some accused witch thanked interrogators for letting them confess or for catching them
xxxi. “Envy, hatred, and anger were felt to be literally murderous” (62) so if a woman felt these she must have acted upon them
xxxii. Successful prosecution meant that part of her property was confiscated – so it was the prosecutors who felt this evil emotion
xxxiii. “The witch was a sworn enemy of Christendom whose evil deeds were an affront to Christ’s body and a mockery of His sacrificial death”- pg 64
xxxiv. There was a foggy area if a repentant witch should be given communion before her death
xxxv. Many witch were killed before burning – but death depended on their crimes and their contribution
3. Part 2 – Fantasy
a. Chapter 3 – Cannibalism
i. “Cannibalism was a 16th c. preoccupation”- pg 71- this was in part because of New World exploration where cannibalism occurred
ii. Witches used all parts of children for their purposes
iii. Cannibalism was related to the communion
iv. Children were always eaten by groups of witches
v. Motherhood and birth were key themes
vi. Digging up children was birth in reverse
vii. Witchcraft didn’t cause lasting division in the town
b. Chapter 4 – Sex with the Devil
i. By having sex with the Devil = supposedly marry him and become his
ii. Sex with the Devil is “degrading, filthy and anal” pg 84
iii. A witch was someone who had sex with the Devil – its what cemented their bond and pact
iv. Sex with the Devil was the “fall or beginning of their demonic narrative- pg 84
v. In many stories the devil wore black- with a feather in his hat to represent duplicity and it was phallic
vi. Some women described the Devil as the “ideal lover” pg 86
vii. Some even saw the devil as a pastor or priest or as a man they loved
viii. Some see him as a young man
ix. “Colour is always mentioned” - pg 87
x. Devil told women “she would have good things” is she slept with him – pg 88
xi. For women already married the Devil would promise to be a better husband
xii. The Devil knew when a woman was unhappy and would make false promises to her that would make her think he could make her happy
xiii. A problem was posed when men started to say they were witches but the Devil could also take on female form – often in the form of someone they know and were more likely to have sex with more than one Devil lover
xiv. Many men also committed bestiality that the Devil tempted them into
xv. Devil is often described as having animal parts
xvi. Culture did not approve of depression because it separated the person from the community and made them susceptible to the Devil or to temptation
xvii. Before the Reformation there was quite a bit of ambiguity about marriage
xviii. Sometimes mothers could be the “ go between” between the Devils and their daughters (pg 97) – this was probably because parents such an influence in normal courtship and marriages
xix. Witchcraft was in the blood
xx. “Sex with the Devil results in the killing of children” (97)
xxi. Some babies were believed to become monsters because of their mothers (witches) imagination or to be possessed by the Devil – the Church said these babies had to be killed
xxii. Sex with the Devil did not produce offspring
c. Chapter 5 – Sabbaths
i. “Flight is the attribute most closely associated with witches” (pg 104)- although this helped the skeptics
ii. At Sabbaths witches obeyed no rules and partied like no bodies business
iii. Sabbath could be imaginary but that didn’t make them less real
iv. Some people believed only parts of witch legends
v. Every witch made the story in her confession her own
vi. Some forms of torture involved suspension which would have made the women literally feel like they were flying
vii. Fling also had sexual components (like everything else involving witches) because they rode things (often phallic in shape) and over with their lover
viii. “Demonic revelry” at the Sabbath- pg 108
ix. Sabbaths normally took place at tucked away at local spots
x. Sabbaths divided the rich from the poor
xi. Each witch was paired with a devil in these celebrations – ended with sex
xii. The happening of the Sabbath were opposite to Christian ritual
xiii. “Diabolic baptism” occurred (115) – sometimes the Devil would tell them his name at this time and give them a new diabolical name
xiv. Witches supposedly flew into cellars and stole wine- in a time when the sanctity of a house represented the sanctity of the person occupying it – the cellar may have represented the guts or sexual organs
xv. Witchcraft was “part of the culture of entertainment” in literature, wood cuts, and pamphlets
xvi. The motifs of the witch craze were the same often as what charges had been brought against heretics- this gave them added force
xvii. The goat was considered the most sexual of animals
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