Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany, 1562-1684: The Social and Intellectual Foundations 9780804766470

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Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684

Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684 The Social and Intellectual Foundations

H. C. Erik Midelfort

Stanford University Press Stanford~ California

I972

Stanford University Press Stanford, California © 1972 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University Printed in the United States of America ISBN 0-8047-0805-3 LC 75-183891

For my parents and my parents-in-law

Preface

IN MY wanderings I have incurred many scholarly debts that may never be properly repaid, but that should at least be acknowledged. First, my thanks must go to Timothy Breen, J. H. Hexter, and Hans Hillerbrand for encouraging me to pursue this topic and for helping me to collect my thoughts. In addition, I received invaluable counsel from Howard Lamar and Heiko Oberman. My manuscript received careful and helpful scrutiny from Gene Brucker and Steven Ozment, and while researching and writing it, I have been guided by the genial wisdom of Jaroslav Pelikan. I received assistance of a more material, but no less crucial, sort from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, which made my year in Germany possible. Also, I was able to purchase microfilm through the assistance of Yale University. My work was eased considerably by the gracious reception given me by the libraries of Karlsruhe, Munich, Stuttgart, Zurich, Tiibingen University, and Yale University. Similarly, various state archives displayed a spontaneous readiness to help a novice with difficult manuscript materials: the Generallandesarchiv in Karlsruhe, the Wiirttembergisches Staatsarchiv in Ludwigsburg, the Staatsarchiv in Sigmaringen, and the Hauptstaatsarchiv in Stuttgart. Many of my fondest memories are of the pleasant hours I spent in small-town archives, especially those of Ellwangen, Offenburg, and Rottweil, and I am grateful for the help these archives gave me. Finally, my thanks to the Universitatsarchiv in Tiibingen for its unfailing support and assistance. The pictures in the picture section are reproduced by the kind permission of the custodians of the originals: the Graphische Sammlung

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Preface

of the Zentralbibliothek Zurich, the Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart (HSASt), and the Wiirttembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart. My first encounter with the early modern German script came through the summer institute of the Foundation for Reformation Research in St. Louis, Missouri. Without the help of A. C. Piepkorn's paleography course, my task would have been much harder. Even at their most legible, however, witchcraft records are depressing documents. For helping me retain such composure as remains, therefore, I must thank my wife, Corelyn. H.C.E.M. Charlottesville, June 1972

Contents

I.

Introduction

2.

An Anatomy of Witchcraft

1

10

3· Witchcraft Theories in the German Southwest

30

4· Patterns of Witch Hunting in the German Southwest

67

5· The Large Witchcraft Trials Begin, 1562-1618

85

6. The General Crisis of Confidence, 1627-1684

121

7· The Social Foundations

164

8. Conclusion

193

Appendix: Chronological List of Trials

199

Notes

231

Bibliography

261

Index

301 Eight pages of illustrations follow p. 126

Tables and Figures

TABLES

r. Number of Persons Executed in Witchcraft Trials, I56I-I67o, by Religion 2. Comparison of Protestant and Catholic Trials Before and After 16oo 3· Devil Literature in Germany, rsso-r6oo 4· Frequency of Small Witchcraft Trials Where Outcome Is Known, 1561-1670 5· Frequency of Small Witchcraft Trials Where Outcome Is Not Known, rs6I-167o 6. The Largest Witch Hunts in the German Southwest 7· Rottweil Witchcraft Trials 8. Age Distribution of Children Claiming Involvement in Witchcraft, Calw, 1683-1684 9· Ellwangen Witchcraft Confiscations, 16n-I6I5 10. Mergentheim Confiscations as Percentages of Assessed Valuation I I. Mergentheim Confiscations by Economic Class I2. Three Periods of Mergentheim Confiscations I 3· Court Costs in Mergentheim, I631 14· Males and Females Executed in Large Witch Hunts of the German Southwest 15. Wiirzburg Witchcraft Trials, 1627-I629

32 33 70 72 73 86 95 r6o I7I 174 I75 176 177 r8o 182

FIGURES

r. Epidemics in the German Southwest, r5oo-I68o 2. Executions and Acquittals in Mergentheim, 1628-r63r

123 146

~ Bishop of Wurzburg

-

-

rni Archbishop of Mainz

Bishop of Constance

II Teutonic Order II Ellwangen

Bishop of Speyer

!\\}J Bishop of Strasbourg KM = Knights of Malta

Monasteries

1 RottenmUnster

2 Weingarten 3 St. Blasien

4 Zwiefalten 5 Gutenzell

6 Obermarchtal 7 Rot 8 Schussenried 9 Schi:intal 10 Ochsenhausen 11 Heiligenkreuz.tal

12 Heggbach 13 Soflingen

14 Wiblingen

15 Petershausen 16 Urspring 17 J3aindt

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