Jesenice witch trials
Encyclopedia
Northern Moravian witch trials, also known as Boblig witch trials was a series of witch trial
s which occurred in the Jeseník
and Šumperk
area in present day Czech Republic
, between 1678 and 1696. They are among the largest and most well known witch trials in the history of the country.
counter-reformation
. The Bohemians were unwilling to abandon their Protestant
religion after Bohemia had been taken by Austria
during the Thirty Years' War
. There was also great opposition to the social oppression of farmers under the landlords. This caused rebellions, such as the one of 1659-1662 led by Kryštof Winter, Mikuláš Patzold and Jan Jaschke.
Jesuit priest Arnold Engel was the first person who had pointed out to the alleged witch practices in North Moravia
. In order to draw attention of Emperor Leopold I
, he wrote a special memorandum describing alleged public mocking of Catholics by Protestants. In his pamphlet, Engel refers also to the "flourishing of the art of witchcraft and evil". He notes, that "... so many dead men, who didn't die in good faith, but had connections with the devil, are getting up from their graves, and cause heavy damages to both the residents and their livestock."
Witch trials were otherwise uncommon in Bohemia and Moravia. The first witch trials occurred in Jeseník in 1622, when 4 women were executed. In 1636, the first great hunt erupted and lasted until 1648; the number executed has been lost, but is considered to have been great. In 1651, 86 people were executed for witchcraft. 250 people are estimated to have been executed for this charge in the first period of 1622–1651. In 1667, another 16 were burned in Ratibor. They occurred mainly in present day Silesia
and the Principality of Nisa.
attended church, and during the mass, she was observed taking the bread of communion from her mouth in to her prayer book. This was the starting point of the witch trials. The local aristocrat, Countess Angelia Anna Sibyla of Galle, was advised to form a witch commission. Retired inquisition judge Jindřich František Boblig was recommended as the judge and head of the commission. Boblig was to become a well known witch hunter.
The countess did not initially approve of torture. By displaying the torture devices for Schuhová, she pointed out the midwife Dorota Grörová, who, in her turn, pointed out Dorota Davidová, who had wanted the communion to use for a spell which would give the cows more milk. Boblig now convinced the countess that torture was necessary, and after this, torture was much used. The accused were stripped, the Devil's mark were searched for.
In 1679, Marie Schuhová and three other women were burned at the stake; one, Davidová, had died in prison but her corpse was burned all the same.
Boblig and his commission continued his work, and was rumored to be driven by economic reasons. He turned to the city Šumperk
, where many wealthy families lived. Kašpar Sattler and his wife Marie were among those found guilty by him.
. In Velké Losiny
, Marie Sattlerová was pointed out by some of them. When four women were burned in September 1680, the crowd watching the execution cried for Jesus to forgive them. This made an impression on the priest Tomáš König. Together with other priests, he protested against Boblig, saying that if the commission were allowed to continue, then soon no one could be certain of their lives. Boblig reacted with gathering incriminating material against the critics which would suggest that they were witches as well. König died in 1682, just avoiding an arrest, as Boblig was ready to present his witch charge against him.
Another of the critics was Kryštof Alois Lautner, vicar of Šumperk and a popular person because of his tolerance. The Sattler family belonged to the most known accused people of these trials. They had come in to an argument with members of the commission. Boblig had long planned to have them accused so that he could confiscate their property. An already arrested person was made to implicate them. Kašpar Sattler, his wife Marie and daughter Lizl were arrested and tortured. They were made to implicate Zuzana Voglicková, the house keeper and mistress of Lautner. The accused were made to confess to have committed incest and sex with demons at the witches' sabbath. They implicated Lautner, who was arrested as well with permission from the bishop. Lautner, Voglicková and the Sattler family were burned at the stake in 1685.
The persecutions continued for eighteen years, until the death of Boblig in 1696. About one hundred people are estimated to have been executed in the 1678-1696 witch craze.
, also translated as Witches' Hammer or Witchhammer, 1969) is based on Václav Kaplický
’s book Kladivo na čarodějnice (1963), a novel about witch trials in Northern Moravia during the 1670s.
Witch trial
A witch trial is a legal proceeding that is part of a witch-hunt. * Witch trials in Early Modern Europe, 15th–18th centuries** Salzburg witch trials - 1675-1690, Salzburg, Austria** Spa witch trial - 1616, Belgium...
s which occurred in the Jeseník
Jeseník
Jeseník , Frývaldov until 1948 is a city and a district in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic.- Districts :* Bukovice * Dětřichov * Jeseník * Lázně Jeseník - History :...
and Šumperk
Šumperk
Šumperk is a town and district in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It is called "The Gate to Jeseníky mountains."- History :Šumperk was founded by German colonists in 1269. The German name Schönberg means "beautiful hill", and the name Šumperk is a Czech garbling of the original German...
area in present day Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, between 1678 and 1696. They are among the largest and most well known witch trials in the history of the country.
Background
The Norther Moravian witch trials are considered to be part of the CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
counter-reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
. The Bohemians were unwilling to abandon their Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
religion after Bohemia had been taken by Austria
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
. There was also great opposition to the social oppression of farmers under the landlords. This caused rebellions, such as the one of 1659-1662 led by Kryštof Winter, Mikuláš Patzold and Jan Jaschke.
Jesuit priest Arnold Engel was the first person who had pointed out to the alleged witch practices in North Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. In order to draw attention of Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
, he wrote a special memorandum describing alleged public mocking of Catholics by Protestants. In his pamphlet, Engel refers also to the "flourishing of the art of witchcraft and evil". He notes, that "... so many dead men, who didn't die in good faith, but had connections with the devil, are getting up from their graves, and cause heavy damages to both the residents and their livestock."
Witch trials were otherwise uncommon in Bohemia and Moravia. The first witch trials occurred in Jeseník in 1622, when 4 women were executed. In 1636, the first great hunt erupted and lasted until 1648; the number executed has been lost, but is considered to have been great. In 1651, 86 people were executed for witchcraft. 250 people are estimated to have been executed for this charge in the first period of 1622–1651. In 1667, another 16 were burned in Ratibor. They occurred mainly in present day Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
and the Principality of Nisa.
The trials
At Easter 1678, Marie Schuhová from VernířoviceVernířovice
Vernířovice is a village and municipality in Šumperk District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 192 ....
attended church, and during the mass, she was observed taking the bread of communion from her mouth in to her prayer book. This was the starting point of the witch trials. The local aristocrat, Countess Angelia Anna Sibyla of Galle, was advised to form a witch commission. Retired inquisition judge Jindřich František Boblig was recommended as the judge and head of the commission. Boblig was to become a well known witch hunter.
The countess did not initially approve of torture. By displaying the torture devices for Schuhová, she pointed out the midwife Dorota Grörová, who, in her turn, pointed out Dorota Davidová, who had wanted the communion to use for a spell which would give the cows more milk. Boblig now convinced the countess that torture was necessary, and after this, torture was much used. The accused were stripped, the Devil's mark were searched for.
In 1679, Marie Schuhová and three other women were burned at the stake; one, Davidová, had died in prison but her corpse was burned all the same.
Boblig and his commission continued his work, and was rumored to be driven by economic reasons. He turned to the city Šumperk
Šumperk
Šumperk is a town and district in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It is called "The Gate to Jeseníky mountains."- History :Šumperk was founded by German colonists in 1269. The German name Schönberg means "beautiful hill", and the name Šumperk is a Czech garbling of the original German...
, where many wealthy families lived. Kašpar Sattler and his wife Marie were among those found guilty by him.
The trial of Lautner
In February 1680, five women were decapitated and burned. Usually, those convicted by Boblig were sentenced execution by burningExecution by burning
Death by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft....
. In Velké Losiny
Velké Losiny
Velké Losiny is a village and municipality in Šumperk District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It covers an area of , and has a population of 2,832 and lies approximately north-east of Šumperk, north of Olomouc, and east of Prague...
, Marie Sattlerová was pointed out by some of them. When four women were burned in September 1680, the crowd watching the execution cried for Jesus to forgive them. This made an impression on the priest Tomáš König. Together with other priests, he protested against Boblig, saying that if the commission were allowed to continue, then soon no one could be certain of their lives. Boblig reacted with gathering incriminating material against the critics which would suggest that they were witches as well. König died in 1682, just avoiding an arrest, as Boblig was ready to present his witch charge against him.
Another of the critics was Kryštof Alois Lautner, vicar of Šumperk and a popular person because of his tolerance. The Sattler family belonged to the most known accused people of these trials. They had come in to an argument with members of the commission. Boblig had long planned to have them accused so that he could confiscate their property. An already arrested person was made to implicate them. Kašpar Sattler, his wife Marie and daughter Lizl were arrested and tortured. They were made to implicate Zuzana Voglicková, the house keeper and mistress of Lautner. The accused were made to confess to have committed incest and sex with demons at the witches' sabbath. They implicated Lautner, who was arrested as well with permission from the bishop. Lautner, Voglicková and the Sattler family were burned at the stake in 1685.
The persecutions continued for eighteen years, until the death of Boblig in 1696. About one hundred people are estimated to have been executed in the 1678-1696 witch craze.
In fiction
Otakar Vávra's film Kladivo na čarodějnice (Malleus MaleficarumMalleus Maleficarum
The Malleus Maleficarum is an infamous treatise on witches, written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, and was first published in Germany in 1487...
, also translated as Witches' Hammer or Witchhammer, 1969) is based on Václav Kaplický
Václav Kaplický
Václav Kaplický was a Czech writer, journalist and epic poet. He is most known as an author of historical fiction....
’s book Kladivo na čarodějnice (1963), a novel about witch trials in Northern Moravia during the 1670s.
External links
- http://www.rozhlas.cz/toulky/vysila_praha/_zprava/141284
- http://www.metalopolis.net/art_downtown.asp?id=247
- http://www.muzeum-sumperk.cz/index.php?item=cinnost/publikacni-cinnost/vlastivedny-sbornik-severni-morava/obsah/&larticle=3005
- http://www.carodejnicke-procesy.mysteria.cz/