Johannes Junius
Encyclopedia
Johannes Junius was the mayor (German: Bürgermeister) of Bamberg
, and a victim of the Bamberg witch trials
, who wrote a letter to his daughter from jail while he awaited execution for witchcraft
.
Junius became mayor in 1608 and remained in that position until his arrest, which came shortly after his wife had been executed on similar charges. He was implicated in witchcraft by other victims of the witch craze (which was particularly pronounced in Bamberg, where five mayors were burned at the stake), who had been pressured under torture to reveal the names of their accomplices. Court documents describe how Junius at first denied all charges and demanded to confront his witnesses, and continued to deny his involvement in witchcraft after almost a week of torture, which included the application of thumbscrews, leg vises (Beinschrauben), and strappado
. He finally confessed on July 5, 1628, and was publicly burned to death one month later.
In his confession, Junius relates that in 1624, while in a difficult financial state, he was seduced by a woman who later proved to be a succubus
and threatened to kill him unless he renounced God
. At first Junius refused, but soon more demon
s materialised and attacked him further, finally convincing him to accept the Devil
as his God. He took the witch-name of Krix and was provided with a familiar named Füchsin ("Vixen"), at which point several local townsfolk revealed themselves as similarly allied with Satan
and congratulated him. Thereafter he regularly attended witch's sabbats, to which he rode on the back of a monstrous, flying black dog. At once such sabbat he attended a Black Mass
at which Beelzebub
made an appearance. Although his fellow witches and familiar demons had commanded him to kill his children in their name, he had been unable to perform this sacrifice
, for which he was beaten. However, he did admit to having sacrificed his horse and burying a sacred wafer.
On July 24, shortly before his execution, Junius managed to write a letter to his daughter, Veronica, which was smuggled out of jail by his guard and successfully delivered. In the letter he defends his innocence, claims that those who testified against him have secretly begged his forgiveness, and recounts the abject horror of his torture
(inflicted upon him by his brother-in-law and three others), from which his hands still shake at the time of writing the letter. He also says that at first he attempted to create a confession in which he could not identify the other witches, but was forced to name names under threat of further torture. The letter begins: "Many hundred thousand good-nights, dearly beloved daughter Veronica," and ends "Good night, for your father Johannes Junius will see you no more."
Many hundred thousand good-nights, dearly beloved daughter Veronica. Innocent have I come into prison, innocent have I been tortured, innocent must I die. For whoever comes into the witch prison must become a witch or be tortured until he invents something out of his head and - God pity him- bethinks him of something. I will tell you how it has gone with me. When I was the first time put to the torture, Dr. Braun, Dr. Kotzendorffer, and two strange doctors were there. Then Dr. Braun, asks me, "Kinsman, how come you here?", I answer, "Through falsehood, through misfortune." "Hear, you," he says, "you are a witch; will you confess it voluntarily? If not, we'll bring in witnesses and the executioner for you." I said "I am no witch, I have a pure conscience in the matter; if there are a thousand witnesses, I am not anxious, but I'll gladly hear the witnesses." Now the chancellor's son was set before me ... and afterward Hoppfen Elss. She had seen me dance on Haupts-moor ... I answered: "I have never renounced God, and will never do it- God graciously keep me from it. I'll rather bear whatever I must." And then came also- God in highest Heaven have mercy- the executioner, and put the thumb-screws on me, both hands bound together, so that the blood ran out at the nails and everywhere, so that for four weeks I could not use my hands, as you can see from the writing ... Thereafter they first stripped me, bound my hands behind me, and drew me up in the torture. Then I thought heaven and earth were at an end; eight times did they draw me up and let me fall again, so that I suffered terrible agony ....
And this happened on Friday, June 30, and with God's help I had to bear the torture. When at last the executioner led me back into the prison, he said to me: "Sir, I beg you, for God's sake confess something, for you cannot endure the torture which you will be put to; and even if you bear it all, yet you will not escape, not even if you were an earl, but one torture will follow after another until you say you are a witch. Not before that," he said, "will they let you go, as you may see by all their trials, for one is just like another."...
And so I begged, since I was in a wretched plight, to be given one day for thought and a priest. The priest was refused me, but the time for thought was given. Now, my dear child, see what hazard I stood and still stand. I must say that I am a witch, though I am not, - must now renounce God, though I have never done it before. Day and night I was deeply troubled, but a last there came to me a new idea. I would not be anxious, but, since I had been given no priest with whom I could take counsel, I would myself think of something and say it. It were surely better that I just say it with mouth and words, even though I had not really done it'; and afterwards I would confess it to the priest, and let those answer for it who compel me to do it. ... And so I made my confession, as follows; but it was all a lie.
Now follows, dear child, what I confessed in order to escape the great anguish and bitter torture, which it was impossible for me longer to bear.
....
Then I had to tell what people I had seen [at the witch-sabbath]. I said that I had not recognized them. "You old rascal, I must set the executioner at you. Say- was not the Chancellor there?" So I said yes. "Who besides?" I had not recognized anybody. So he said: "Take one street after another; begin at the market, go out on one street and back on the next." I had to name several persons there. Then came the long street. I knew nobody. Had to name eight persons there. Then the Zinkenwert- one person more. Then over the upper bridge to the Georgthor, on both sides. Knew nobody again. Did I know nobody in the castle- whoever it might be, I should speak without fear. And thus continuously they asked me on all the streets, though I could not and would not say more. So they gave me to the executioner, told him to strip me, shave me all over, and put me to the torture. "The rascal knows one on the market-place, is with him daily, and yet won't know him." By that they meant Dietmery: so I had to name him too.
Then I had to tell what crimes I had committed. I said nothing. ..."Draw the rascal up!" So I said that I was to kill my children, but I had killed a horse instead. It did not help. I had also taken a sacred wafer, and had desecrated it. When I had said this, they left me in peace.
Now dear child, here you have all my confession, for which I must die. And they are sheer lies and made-up things, so help me God. For all this I was forced to say through fear of the torture which was threatened beyond what I had already endured. For they never leave off with the torture till one confesses something; be he never so good, he must be a witch. Nobody escapes, though he were an earl. ...
Dear child, keep this letter secret so that people do not find it, else I shall be tortured most piteously and the jailers will be beheaded. So strictly is it forbidden. ...Dear child, pay this man a dollar... I have taken several days to write this: my hands are both lame. I am in a sad plight....
Good night, for your father Johannes Junius will never see you more. July 24, 1628.
[And on the margin of the letter he added:]
Dear child, six have confessed against me at once: the Chancellor, his son, Neudecker, Zaner, Hoffmaisters Ursel, and Hoppfen Else- all false, through compulsion, as they have all told me, and begged my forgiveness in God's name before they were executed. ... They know nothing but good of me. They were forced to say it, just as I myself was.
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
, and a victim of the Bamberg witch trials
Bamberg witch trials
The Bamberg witch trials, which took place in Bamberg in Germany in 1626-1631, are among the more famous cases in European witchcraft history. They resulted in the executions of between 300 and 600 people, and were some of the greatest witch trials in history, as well as some of the greatest...
, who wrote a letter to his daughter from jail while he awaited execution for witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
.
Junius became mayor in 1608 and remained in that position until his arrest, which came shortly after his wife had been executed on similar charges. He was implicated in witchcraft by other victims of the witch craze (which was particularly pronounced in Bamberg, where five mayors were burned at the stake), who had been pressured under torture to reveal the names of their accomplices. Court documents describe how Junius at first denied all charges and demanded to confront his witnesses, and continued to deny his involvement in witchcraft after almost a week of torture, which included the application of thumbscrews, leg vises (Beinschrauben), and strappado
Strappado
Strappado is a form of torture in which the victim's hands are first tied behind their back and suspended in the air by means of a rope attached to wrists, which most likely dislocates both arms...
. He finally confessed on July 5, 1628, and was publicly burned to death one month later.
In his confession, Junius relates that in 1624, while in a difficult financial state, he was seduced by a woman who later proved to be a succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
and threatened to kill him unless he renounced God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. At first Junius refused, but soon more demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s materialised and attacked him further, finally convincing him to accept the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
as his God. He took the witch-name of Krix and was provided with a familiar named Füchsin ("Vixen"), at which point several local townsfolk revealed themselves as similarly allied with Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
and congratulated him. Thereafter he regularly attended witch's sabbats, to which he rode on the back of a monstrous, flying black dog. At once such sabbat he attended a Black Mass
Black Mass
A Black Mass is a ceremony supposedly celebrated during the Witches' Sabbath, which was a sacrilegious parody of the Catholic Mass. Its main objective was the profanation of the host, although there is no agreement among authors on how hosts were obtained or profaned; the most common idea is that...
at which Beelzebub
Beelzebub
Beelzebub -Religious meaning:Ba‘al Zəbûb is variously understood to mean "lord of flies", or "lord of the dwelling". Originally the name of a Philistine god, Beelzebub is also identified in the New Testament as Satan, the "prince of the demons". In Arabic the name is retained as Ba‘al dhubaab /...
made an appearance. Although his fellow witches and familiar demons had commanded him to kill his children in their name, he had been unable to perform this sacrifice
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...
, for which he was beaten. However, he did admit to having sacrificed his horse and burying a sacred wafer.
On July 24, shortly before his execution, Junius managed to write a letter to his daughter, Veronica, which was smuggled out of jail by his guard and successfully delivered. In the letter he defends his innocence, claims that those who testified against him have secretly begged his forgiveness, and recounts the abject horror of his torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
(inflicted upon him by his brother-in-law and three others), from which his hands still shake at the time of writing the letter. He also says that at first he attempted to create a confession in which he could not identify the other witches, but was forced to name names under threat of further torture. The letter begins: "Many hundred thousand good-nights, dearly beloved daughter Veronica," and ends "Good night, for your father Johannes Junius will see you no more."
Full Contents of Letter
(Note: His torture and his forced confession are available in the Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology)Many hundred thousand good-nights, dearly beloved daughter Veronica. Innocent have I come into prison, innocent have I been tortured, innocent must I die. For whoever comes into the witch prison must become a witch or be tortured until he invents something out of his head and - God pity him- bethinks him of something. I will tell you how it has gone with me. When I was the first time put to the torture, Dr. Braun, Dr. Kotzendorffer, and two strange doctors were there. Then Dr. Braun, asks me, "Kinsman, how come you here?", I answer, "Through falsehood, through misfortune." "Hear, you," he says, "you are a witch; will you confess it voluntarily? If not, we'll bring in witnesses and the executioner for you." I said "I am no witch, I have a pure conscience in the matter; if there are a thousand witnesses, I am not anxious, but I'll gladly hear the witnesses." Now the chancellor's son was set before me ... and afterward Hoppfen Elss. She had seen me dance on Haupts-moor ... I answered: "I have never renounced God, and will never do it- God graciously keep me from it. I'll rather bear whatever I must." And then came also- God in highest Heaven have mercy- the executioner, and put the thumb-screws on me, both hands bound together, so that the blood ran out at the nails and everywhere, so that for four weeks I could not use my hands, as you can see from the writing ... Thereafter they first stripped me, bound my hands behind me, and drew me up in the torture. Then I thought heaven and earth were at an end; eight times did they draw me up and let me fall again, so that I suffered terrible agony ....
And this happened on Friday, June 30, and with God's help I had to bear the torture. When at last the executioner led me back into the prison, he said to me: "Sir, I beg you, for God's sake confess something, for you cannot endure the torture which you will be put to; and even if you bear it all, yet you will not escape, not even if you were an earl, but one torture will follow after another until you say you are a witch. Not before that," he said, "will they let you go, as you may see by all their trials, for one is just like another."...
And so I begged, since I was in a wretched plight, to be given one day for thought and a priest. The priest was refused me, but the time for thought was given. Now, my dear child, see what hazard I stood and still stand. I must say that I am a witch, though I am not, - must now renounce God, though I have never done it before. Day and night I was deeply troubled, but a last there came to me a new idea. I would not be anxious, but, since I had been given no priest with whom I could take counsel, I would myself think of something and say it. It were surely better that I just say it with mouth and words, even though I had not really done it'; and afterwards I would confess it to the priest, and let those answer for it who compel me to do it. ... And so I made my confession, as follows; but it was all a lie.
Now follows, dear child, what I confessed in order to escape the great anguish and bitter torture, which it was impossible for me longer to bear.
....
Then I had to tell what people I had seen [at the witch-sabbath]. I said that I had not recognized them. "You old rascal, I must set the executioner at you. Say- was not the Chancellor there?" So I said yes. "Who besides?" I had not recognized anybody. So he said: "Take one street after another; begin at the market, go out on one street and back on the next." I had to name several persons there. Then came the long street. I knew nobody. Had to name eight persons there. Then the Zinkenwert- one person more. Then over the upper bridge to the Georgthor, on both sides. Knew nobody again. Did I know nobody in the castle- whoever it might be, I should speak without fear. And thus continuously they asked me on all the streets, though I could not and would not say more. So they gave me to the executioner, told him to strip me, shave me all over, and put me to the torture. "The rascal knows one on the market-place, is with him daily, and yet won't know him." By that they meant Dietmery: so I had to name him too.
Then I had to tell what crimes I had committed. I said nothing. ..."Draw the rascal up!" So I said that I was to kill my children, but I had killed a horse instead. It did not help. I had also taken a sacred wafer, and had desecrated it. When I had said this, they left me in peace.
Now dear child, here you have all my confession, for which I must die. And they are sheer lies and made-up things, so help me God. For all this I was forced to say through fear of the torture which was threatened beyond what I had already endured. For they never leave off with the torture till one confesses something; be he never so good, he must be a witch. Nobody escapes, though he were an earl. ...
Dear child, keep this letter secret so that people do not find it, else I shall be tortured most piteously and the jailers will be beheaded. So strictly is it forbidden. ...Dear child, pay this man a dollar... I have taken several days to write this: my hands are both lame. I am in a sad plight....
Good night, for your father Johannes Junius will never see you more. July 24, 1628.
[And on the margin of the letter he added:]
Dear child, six have confessed against me at once: the Chancellor, his son, Neudecker, Zaner, Hoffmaisters Ursel, and Hoppfen Else- all false, through compulsion, as they have all told me, and begged my forgiveness in God's name before they were executed. ... They know nothing but good of me. They were forced to say it, just as I myself was.