Helena Scheuberin
Helena Scheuberin ( 1485 bl. In Innsbruck ) was an Austrian victim of the witch hunt . Their trial, which resulted in an acquittal, resulted in the Malleus Maleficarum , published in 1486.
process
In 1485 Helena Scheuberin was brought to court in Innsbruck. She was charged with murdering the noble knight Jörg Spiess with the help of magic . The knight fell ill and, in order not to die, was warned by his Italian doctor against further visits to Helena Scheuberin.
Six other women were included in the process and charged with witchcraft . Several witnesses provided information that showed that they were determined by personal prejudice against the women accused. In addition, the authorities at the time generally viewed witchcraft as a minor offense that they did not necessarily associate with the devil . In the end, Helena Scheuberin and the other six women were all either released or received mild sentences in the form of penal conditions.
Historical meaning
The inquisitor Heinrich Kramer had drafted the text of the papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus (so-called witch bull ), which Pope Innocent VIII published at his instigation in 1484 and which confirmed his jurisdiction and authority as inquisitor. With the bull he initiated numerous witch trials, including in Innsbruck . When representatives of all social classes protested against him there, Bishop Georg (II.) Golser set up a commission to examine Kramer's work. When that came to a devastating result, the bishop ordered the persecution to cease, released the women accused, and overturned the Inquisition's verdicts . Kramer was asked to leave the country. When Heinrich Kramer returned to Cologne, he wrote a treatise on witchcraft there, which was later included in an instruction on the detection of witches, the Malleus Maleficarum.
literature
- Hartmann Ammann: The Innsbruck witch trial of 1485 , in: Ferdinandeum magazine III. Episode 34, p. 31 ff.
- Manfred Tschaikner: The Innsbruck witch trial of 1485 and the opponents of the inquisitor Heinrich Kramer: Archduke Sigmnund, Dr. Johannes Merwart and Bishop Georg Golser (Revised version of "Witches in Innsbruck? ...") In: Tiroler Heimat, Volume 82 (2018)
- Wolfgang Behringer / Günter Jerouschek : “The most ominous book in world literature”? On the history of the origins and effects of the Malleus Maleficarum and the beginnings of the persecution of witches , in: Heinrich Kramer (Institoris), Der Hexenhammer. Malleus Maleficarum , ed. by Günter Jerouschek / Wolfgang Behringer, Munich, 8th edition 2010, 9–98.
Individual evidence
- ^ Sigrid Brauner: Fearless Wives and Frightened Shrews: The Construction of the Witch in Early Modern Germany ( en ). Univ. of Massachusetts Press, 2001, ISBN 1558492976 .
- ↑ Matthias Kessler: The fate of the witch Helena: A mystery crime based on true events . Allpart Media, December 21, 2012, ISBN 9783862145119 .
- ↑ Laura Stokes: In Covenant with the Devil. In: epoc , 05/2010, p. 69
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Scheuberin, Helena |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian victim of the witch hunt |
| DATE OF BIRTH | before 1485 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 15th century or 16th century |