Christina Plum

Christina Plum (also Plom, Plaum; † January 16, 1630 in Cologne ) was a fruit seller from Cologne and the daughter of a gaff carrier . She played an important role in the history of the Cologne witch hunt .

The Christina Plum case

Happening

The fall of Christina Plum marked the ebb of the Cologne witch trials. It stands at the end of a three-year period of increased witchcraft accusations, which increased in frequency with the conviction of the patrician Katharina Henot in 1627. During this wave of trials between 1627 and 1630, a good two thirds of all death sentences that were imposed during the entire witch hunt in Cologne were pronounced. In April 1629, the 24-year-old Christina Plum had indicted a large number of respected people from the Cologne upper class. The case caused a sensation, as the allegation of witchcraft first affected the upper class on a large scale. She was then interrogated for the first time by the city council.

statement

Among the people she denounced were u. a. Katharina Henot's brother Hartger Henot , the dean of St. Andreas, but also the wife of the mayor Hardenrath. She also did not shrink from accusing the court officer involved in her interrogation, Doctor Friedrich Wischius (also Wissius), of witchcraft. In addition, she makes several references to Katharina Henot, who was convicted as a witch in 1627. She is said to have appeared to the accused six months after her execution. Katharina Henot is also said to have personally led her to the witch's dance . The Henotsche Weingarten is also said to have been a popular meeting place for the witch's dance, in which 20-30 people took part.

problem

Through the statements of Christina Plum, the selection of the denounced people was questioned for the first time. Witchcraft was believed to be believed, but it could not be imagined that these eminent personalities were all guilty of witchcraft. At the same time, the council had to be accused by the archbishop of not acting tough enough against witchcraft in the free imperial city of Cologne. One was at a loss.

If Christina Plum's statements had been taken at face value, this could have reached scandalous proportions. On the other hand, no one wanted to be accused of not taking the problem of witchcraft seriously enough.

Process flow

Christina Plum was transferred to Greven for the first time on May 23, 1629, and thus to the High Secular Judgment. In the end, however, they were released again in the hope of solving this uncomfortable problem. It was argued that the defendant had not accused herself of witchcraft, but merely participated as a witness in the witch's dance. When she was released, however, she was given clear instructions to keep silent about the names of the people she had denounced. Christina Plum did not adhere to these requirements. Your statements then triggered great unrest among the population. They were therefore forced to arrest her again.

After further interrogations in the Frankenturm , Christina Plum was returned to Greven on December 17, 1629. The verdict, however, turned out to be problematic, since in the Plum case there was no classic witch pattern. She had neither made a pact with the devil nor united with him by virtue of the devil's allegiance. Another problem was that Christina Plum claimed that the devil had given her the job of naming both guilty and innocent in order to obstruct justice. During the embarrassing questioning that followed, however, she was persuaded to recognize herself as a witch. This confession paved the way for a judgment.

Sentencing and execution

On January 16, 1630 Christina Plum was sentenced to death by the jury at the cathedral courtyard and taken to Melaten . There she was strangled and then burned at the stake. The incriminating case files made the council and archbishop disappear in an unusual agreement.

After Christina Plum's execution, there were eight other trials in the 1630s that resulted in death by fire for those convicted. Then 17 years passed in Cologne until the death sentence was pronounced again in 1647 with Peter von Rodenkirchen at a witch trial.

rehabilitation

At the meeting on June 28, 2012, the City Council of Cologne unanimously approved a socio-ethical rehabilitation of the victims of the Cologne witch trials.

literature

• Irene Franken , Ina Hoerner: Witches. Persecution in Cologne. Cologne: Emons, 2000.
• Jürgen Macha, Wolfgang Herborn: Cologne witch interrogations from the 17th century . Cologne u. a .: Böhlau-Verlag, 1992 (= messages from the Cologne City Archives. Ed. by Hugo Stehkämper; 74th issue).

See also

• Hartger Henot
• Katharina Henot
• Sophia Agnes von Langenberg

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Macha, Jürgen and Herborn, Wolfgang: Kölner Hexenverhöre from the 17th century. Cologne u. a .: Böhlau-Verlag, 1992 (= messages from the Cologne City Archives. Ed. by Hugo Stehkämper; 74th issue). P. 3.
2. ↑ Franken, Irene and Hoerner, Ina: Hexen. Persecution in Cologne. Cologne 2000, p. 60.
3. ↑ Franken, Irene and Hoerner, Ina: Hexen. Persecution in Cologne. Cologne 2000, p. 103.
4. ↑ Macha, Jürgen and Herborn, Wolfgang: Kölner Hexenverhöre from the 17th century. Cologne u. a. 1992, pp. 13, 18.
5. ↑ Franken, Irene and Hoerner, Ina: Hexen. Persecution in Cologne. Cologne 2000, p. 104.
6. ↑ Macha, Jürgen and Herborn, Wolfgang: Kölner Hexenverhöre from the 17th century. Cologne u. a. 1992, p. 41.
7. ↑ Franken, Irene and Hoerner, Ina: Hexen. Persecution in Cologne. Cologne 2000, p. 107.
8. ↑ Franken, Irene and Hoerner, Ina: Hexen. Persecution in Cologne. Cologne 2000, p. 106.
9. ↑ Macha, Jürgen and Herborn, Wolfgang: Kölner Hexenverhöre from the 17th century. Cologne u. a. 1992, p. 72.
10. ↑ Macha, Jürgen and Herborn, Wolfgang: Kölner Hexenverhöre from the 17th century. Cologne u. a. 1992, p. 162.
11. ↑ After 400 years: Cologne rehabilitates witches. (No longer available online.) In: Aachener Nachrichten. June 28, 2012, formerly in the original ; Retrieved April 28, 2016 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.