004 - Reigns of Terror

In this episode, we examine two of the more brutal and violent witch panics in all of European history; Fulda between 1602 and 1606, and Bamberg, between 1626 and 1632. Both ruled by Catholic clergy-lords, one a Prince-Abbot and the other a Prince-Bishop, they reigned over substantial territories, and their word was law. So when they began trials against suspected witches, they rapidly escalated to every part of society. No one was safe.

This episode primarily made use of the following texts, among others:

Constitutio Criminalis Carolina (1530)

Del Rio, Martin, Disquisitiones Magicae, (1599)

Weyer, Johann, De Praestigiis Daemonum (1563)

Spee, Friedrich, Cautio Criminalis (1531)

Remy, Nicholas, Demonolatry (1595)

Oldridge, Darren, (ed.) The Witchcraft Reader, London, 2002

Midelfort, H. C. Erik, Witch Hunting in South-Western Germany, 1972

Barry, Jonathan and Davies, Owen, Palgrave Advances in Witchcraft Historiography, 2007

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