Cologne 1626-1634

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  • Cologne 1626-1634
    • Key People
      • Katharina Henot
        • German Postmaster
          • possibly the first German postmaster
        • The Imperial court heard the case of the Henots vs Count Leonhard, the witch-hunts began shortly after
          • Leonhard wanted to create a central post office
        • In 1627, a nun became 'obsessed' and rumours soon 'pointed out' Henot who was arrested alongside her brother
        • She refused to admit anyone under extreme torture
          • Despite this, she was deemed guilty and was burned at the stake for sorcery
        • Significance of her case
          • The trial was judicially incorrect
            • the Judicial processes had not been followed or applied fairly or correclty
          • thought that she was a victim of a conspiracy in her area to remover her from her role
            • she was a powerful local figure
          • Whilst the torture was legally allowed, they did not follow the legal processes properly
            • they used torture and when she didn't confess, they treated her as if she had
            • The law was not applied at all
      • Prince-Elector Ferdinand, Archbishop of Cologne
        • About 2000 people were burned between 1626-1634 under the reign of the Prince-Elector Ferdinand, Archbishop of Cologne
        • There were few witchcraft persecutions during the first 15 years of Ferdinand's rule
        • Got involved in the witch hunts after they'd gathered momentum
          • Appointed witch-commissioners to establish control over the situation
            • However, these commissioners soon got out of control, implementing their own policies and terrorising whole regions
        • Had bad relations outside of Cologne, such as with the Holy Roman Emperor
      • Friedrich Spee
        • Fierce opponent of the Cologne witch-craze
        • Argued strongly against the use of torture
        • What he proposed
          • The accused should be provided with a lawyer and a legal defence
          • Most prisoners will confess to anything under torture to stop the pain
          • Condemning the accused for not confessing under torture is absurd
          • Torture does not produce truth
          • The accusations against the alleged accomplices stemming from torture were of little value
    • The  hunts were not being done properly or legally
    • They were punishing people who would have been thought, even back then, to be innocent
      • eg. Katharina Henot
    • seems that they used accusations of witchcraft as an excuse to punish people
    • Fight for power rather than fight against witchcraft?
    • About 2000 people were burned
    • Sterted due to a series of crop failures
    • There was a lack of cohesion between the people and the rulers
    • Significant split in age between those who confessed and those who refused to do so
      • Only those under the age of 30 confessed
        • Those who confessed were confused by the devil
    • Largest city in the Empire
      • The city itself was a free imperial city
    • The only city during the reformation to remain wholly Catholic
    • New judges were coming into power who were more interested in persecutions than those before them

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