Abstract
On 11 February 1612, in Bergedorf, a village close to Hamburg, a court accused an aged man named Joachim Witte of witchcraft. Too many rumours had been circulating about him performing occult activities and, after hearing the testimony of several witnesses, the court decided to torture him. After the use of thumbscrews, the 70-year-old Witte quickly admitted to having bewitched animals at various local farms: his forced confession included 37 cows, 20 pigs, 24 horses and seven calves. He claimed that the Devil had ordered him to kill these 88 animals. With this statement, he admitted the two crimes necessary for conviction as a witch: maleficium (harmful magic) and a demonic pact. Three women, supposedly Witte’s ‘accomplices’ from villages near Bergedorf, were also arrested and tortured but did not confess to having performed witchcraft.
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Notes
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© 2009 Rolf Schulte
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Schulte, R. (2009). Men as Accused Witches in the Holy Roman Empire. In: Rowlands, A. (eds) Witchcraft and Masculinities in Early Modern Europe. Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230248373_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230248373_3
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