Barbara Schwab

Barbara Schwab († September 24, 1505 in Schwabach ) was an early victim of the witch hunt in the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach .

Witch trial

At the beginning of September 1505, Barbara Schwab, the wife of the day laborer Hans Schwab, was arrested in Schwabach as the alleged witch who caused the plague. Under the torture, she confessed to all allegations, such as the devil's pact , devil's allegiance and harmful magic . She was therefore sentenced to death. When her original gout was read publicly on the day of the execution, September 24, 1505, she revoked her confession because it was only attributable to torture. She was still burned alive.

Based on Barbara Schwab's statements , the following women were also arrested and interrogated in Schwabach on suspicion of witchcraft:

• Elisabeth Schwab, Barbara Schwab's unmarried daughter. Like her mother, she confessed and was sentenced to death. However, the judgment was overturned by the margravial court. The Margravine Sophia wanted the child to visit.
• Anna Bayer von Kammerstein. Dismissed on early feud on September 9, 1505
• Anna Wagner, mother-in-law of Hans Bauer. Dismissed on early feud on September 9, 1505

Commemoration

500 years later, on November 25, 2005 in Schwabach as part of a memorial service in the Ev.-luth. City Church unveiled a plaque for Barbara Schwab. Also in 2005 the play Die Hexe von Schwabach was performed for the first time. It comes from the local poet Hans Kipfstuhl , who wrote it in 1950.

swell

• Nuremberg State Archives, Rep. D 12/2 No. 313, fol 57b – 60a

literature

• Susanne Kleinöder-Strobel: The persecution of sorcery and witchcraft in the Franconian margraviate in the 16th century Tübingen 2002, Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 3-16-147863-0 Google Books digitized

• Traudl Kleefeld: Against oblivion: witch hunt in Franconia - sites of remembrance Dettelbach 2016, JH Röll. P. 18 ff. ISBN 978-3-89754-484-0

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kleinöder-Strobel, p. 148 f.
2. ↑ Kleinöder-Strobel, p. 149 f.