Bernhard Schwarte

Bernhard Schwarte (* around 1590 in Lüdinghausen ; † July 11, 1624 there ), Kötter from the Westrup farmers , was a victim of the witch hunts in Lüdinghausen.

Witch trials in Lüdinghausen

The high point of the witch persecution in Lüdinghausen seems to have been the year 1624, when at least 20 people were executed on suspicion of witchcraft in a wave of witch trials in a few months. The number of victims was probably higher as only part of the files have survived.

During the reign of Prince-Bishop Ferdinand of Bavaria from 1612 to 1650, numerous witch trials were carried out in the Münsterland . The main focus of his policy was the re-Catholicization of his diocese. After an outbreak of the plague in 1617 and a devastating city fire in 1619, the stationing of prince-bishop soldiers and attacks by foreign troops began in 1621. The social tensions could be released. a. by looking for scapegoats for the bad conditions and finally found in supposed witches and sorcerers .

Witch trial against Bernhard Schwarte

In the documents received for this process, the reason, the procedure and the background are described in detail. In 1612 Bernhard Schwarte was suspected of having poisoned the host Assenkamp in Westrup with a pot of Koit while a child was being baptized . He and his father had previously been suspected that there was something wrong with their kotten. Before his death, Assenkamp repeated his testimony to the Lüdinghaus judge that he had been poisoned by Schwarte. His widow, in her anger, accused Schwarte of sorcery. He fought back with a libel suit, which he later withdrew.

After these incidents it was quiet around Schwarte again until the summer of 1623. The Westrup farmer Johan Goecke had threshed together with Schwarte, but then fell so unhappily that he broke his left leg. When the fracture had healed well after ten days, Schwarte and his wife came to visit the sick bed. Schwarte looked at the broken leg and explained: “Johan, I don't think your leg is completely in two. It will probably get better soon. ”When the wound became infected the following night, the master Henrich Johaninck, Lüdinghauser skinner and hangman, who also worked as a surgeon, was brought in. He exclaimed in dismay: “What kind of bad people were at work here!” Sophia Schievenhövel, who looked after him, hurried into the room and replied: “Nobody was here except Schwarte and his wife!” Soon the whole village was talking about it. Although the farmer Johan Goecke was prayed for in church, he did not get well, but remained a cripple.

In the summer of 1623, 26 pigs owned by the landlord Hörde fell dead within a week at Lüdinghausen Castle . Immediately the suspicion arose that this must be the work of the devil. Bernhard Schwarte, the kötter from the Westrup peasantry, was suspected . In 1624, Schwarte was again accused of sorcery. In response to this “common rumor”, Junker Wulf, his lord and landlord, ordered him to defend himself as it was due, otherwise he would have to evacuate the Kotten. As a result, Schwarte brought an injunction against the people who had slandered him. However, the witnesses accused the rind of sorcery and requested his arrest. The judge had Schwarte imprisoned at Lüdinghausen Castle. Even before the trial began, Schwarte made a comprehensive confession in front of the judge and the Fron . Then he learned the art of magic twelve years ago from Merge density. Merge density was later arrested in Davensberg and burned for many "wrongdoings" committed.

On Monday, July 1, 1624, the proceedings against Schwarte began in the court house at the castle. In the “amicable” interrogation, Schwarte had to comment on the charges under oath and made a comprehensive confession: turning away from God, devil's alliance , devil's compensation , witch's sabbath and harmful magic . His information was sufficient to sentence him to death. But the Fiscus [public prosecutor] was of the opinion that Schwarte had not yet confessed to many Maleficiencies [misdeeds] and called for “sharper demand”. The judge and lay judges consented to the torture . On the same day, Schwarte was subjected to the ordeal. Schwarte revoked all denunciations: he had no companions, he said that out of the devil's cunning. But he confessed to other spells, murders of humans and neighbors' animals. Finally he confessed what everyone had been waiting for: he had also poisoned the rentmaster's pigs.

Three days later, on July 4th, the defendant's confession was read out again in the presence of the judge and lay judges. When Schwarte confirmed the poisoning of the pigs again, the rent manager Hörde demanded compensation of 100 Reichstalers. He demanded the confiscation of Schwarte's movable property. The judge recognized the rentmaster's request. A dairy cow, a heifer and two piglets were confiscated from the defendant's house and handed over to the landlord.

Verdict and execution

The judgment was drafted, sent to the cathedral chapter in Münster for confirmation and then read out publicly: it has been recognized because of the crimes that have been known and found by the courts that the defendant was tied alive on a ladder, strangled and with gunpowder hung in front of his chest with fire should be punished by life to death. The neck pouch was intended to hasten death as a pardon from the judges. Schwarte was brought to the execution site in Scharperott on a cart. After Schwarte repeated his confession and the priest had given absolution, the executioner carried out the execution in front of the crowd. Bernhard Schwarte was burned on July 11, 1624.

Witch trial against Heidtmann and his wife

Before his death, however, Schwarte withdrew the discharge of the people he had denounced and thus set an ominous process chain in motion. He accused eight people of sorcery, including a man named Heidtmann and his wife. Before he died, he was confronted with both of them. Although both rejected the allegations, a witch trial was opened against them. After the torture, Heidtmann's wife died in prison and the man at the stake. In total, at least 20 people fell victim to the wave of lawsuits in 1624.

literature

• Ilona Tobüren – Bots: Witch madness in Lüdinghausen . In: Liane Schmitz: On the history of Lüdinghausen and Seppenrade . Lüdinghausen, 2000, pp. 227-238
• Ilona Tobüren – Bots: How the devil botched the hangman's craft. Witch madness in the parish of Lüdinghausen in 1624 . In: Lüdinghauser Geschichtshefte , Heft 10 (1994), pp. 25-30

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Documentary mention from the rent master Hörde
2. ↑ Place of execution in Scharperott