List of known people who were executed for witchcraft

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Three people at the stake.
The burning of three alleged witches, Baden in Aargau, 1585

The list of known persons executed for witchcraft relates to the witch hunts during the early modern period in Europe and America. It includes victims of the witch hunt who died as a witch as a result of the persecution, including well-known earlier examples.

Between the 15th and 19th centuries, numerous people were executed as alleged witches through organized witch hunts. From 1420 onwards, witch trials revolved primarily around damage spells (maleficium) , in order to use supernatural powers to inflict damage on others. Witchcraft was not commonly associated with Satan until the early 15th century . From then on, both organized witch hunts and individual individual charges of witchcraft and satanism increased . During the 15th century, various treatises were published that helped establish the stereotype of the witch, particularly the connection with Satan. In the 16th century, the number of witch hunts did not initially increase. Only in the 17th century did the number of witch trials increase.

The witch persecutions of the early modern period include the German witch trials in the county of Werdenfels , in Ellwangen , in Würzburg , in Groß Ullersdorf , in Westphalia , in Bamberg and in Lemgo . In Britain there were the Pendle Witch Trials and the North Berwick Witch Trials . In the United States, especially in New England, witch trials took place from 1648 to 1663, in which a total of about 80 people were charged with witchcraft. The Salem witch trials followed in 1692–1693 and resulted in the execution of 19 people.

The usual methods of executing witches were hanging , drowning and burning . The pyre was common in Europe as it was considered a particularly excruciating way to die. In America, hanging was preferred.

Tens of thousands of people were executed for witchcraft in Europe and the American colonies, and the exact number of victims cannot be given. According to Kors and Peters, science now estimates the number of victims of witch hunts at up to 50,000. According to Merriman, there are higher estimates. Levack multiplied the known number of European witch trials by the average rate of executions and got a figure of 60,000 executed victims. Barstow corrected Levack's estimate for the number of lost records (e.g. World War II ) and estimates 100,000 dead. Hutton argues against this that this was already taken into account in Levack's estimate.

List and pictures of people who were executed for witchcraft

Surname Life dates origin Remarks Illustration
Johann Albrecht Adelgrief died 1636 German Executed for claiming to be a prophet .
Marigje Arriens approx. 1520–1591 Dutch Burned for alleged witchcraft.
Angéle de la Barthe approx. 1230-1275 French Forerunner who was burned with the devil in the Middle Ages for alleged fornication.
Goodwifes Bassett of Stratford died 1651 British American Executed as a witch in Fairfield, Connecticut .
Agnes Bernauer approx. 1410-1435 German After accusations of her father-in-law Ernst (Bavaria) convicted of witchcraft and drowned in the Danube .
Merga Bien 1560s-1603 German Condemned and burned during the witch hunts in Fulda .
Let Birgitta died 1550 Swedish Lasses Birgitta ("Birgitta, Lasses wife") was the first woman to be executed in Sweden for witchcraft. In April 1550 she confessed in a hearing in Algutsum on Öland that she and two men tried to raise a dead person in the cemetery at midnight. She was sentenced to death and beheaded. The two men received fines.
Bridget Bishop approx. 1632-1692 British American colonies Bridget Bishop was the first execution victim in the Salem Witch Trials .

Several qualities made them a target in Puritan Salem. Her first husband died unusually early. She was divorced from her second husband after domestic violence. He accused her of witchcraft, but she was acquitted. She also had a pub with a dubious reputation and dressed conspicuously.

Giovanna Bonanno died 1789 Italian Widow, beggar who supposedly sold her neighbors concoctions and spells that were supposed to kill. Accused of witchcraft and hanged.
Sidonia from Borcke 1548-1620 Pomerania Sidonia von Borcke confessed to murder and witchcraft under torture. She was beheaded and burned.

The fate of Sidonia von Bork (or Borcke) remained alive in legend and poetry. Wilhelm Meinhold published the novel Sidonia von Bork, the monastery witch , in 1847 . In 1849 the novel by Jane Francesca Elgee was successfully translated into English under the title Sidonia the Sorceress . The novel inspired the Pre-Raphaelite Edward Burne-Jones . Theodor Fontane wrote Borcke's Sidonie fragment .

Janet Boyman died 1572 Scottish The Janet Boyman case, also known as Jonet Boyman or Janet Bowman, began in 1570 and is an early and well-documented testimony to the witchcraft craze in Scotland. Boyman was accused of foreseeing the death of the Scottish king. In 1572 she was charged with witchcraft and executed.
George Burroughs approx. 1650-1692 British American colonies Pastor, executed at the Salem witch trials .
Martha Carrier died August 19, 1692 British American colonies Hanged during the Salem witch trials . Her children claimed she was a witch.
Anne de Chantraine 1603-1622 Belgian Anne de Chantraine is described as an exceptionally beautiful, intelligent and lively girl. At the age of 17, she was accused of witchcraft by a boy of the same age whom she had turned away several times, and was arrested as a result. At that time there was a bad harvest. She was tortured several times. She was burned at the stake in Waret-la-Chaussee or in Liège at the age of 19. She is a playable character in the 1991 Australian horror board game series Atmosfear (Nightmare) by Phillip Tanner and Brett Clements.
Michée Chauderon died 1652 Switzerland Michée Chauderon was a widowed laundress who was initially accused of theft by her employer. Then she was accused of having bewitched several children with demons. Under torture, she confessed to summoning demons. She was hanged and then burned. She was the last victim of the witch hunt in Geneva .
Nyzette Cheveron died 1605 Belgian Hung and burned.
Elizabeth Clarke approx. 1565-1645 English Clarke was the first victim of self-proclaimed witch hunter Matthew Hopkins , who is blamed for 300 murders of alleged witches. Elizabeth Clarke from Essex had only one leg and was 80 years old. She was accused of having a sexual relationship with the devil. Because of this, she was hanged. As a result, numerous other people were charged.
Martha Corey 1620s-1692 British American colonies Hanged during the Salem witch trials .
Helena Curtens 1722-1738 German One of the last victims of the witch persecution in Germany. Executed together with Agnes Olmanns in Gerresheim .
Katharina Curtius died 1629 German Was persecuted in Bonn by the notorious witch hunter Franz Buirmann and burned at the stake.
Jean Delvaux died 1595 Belgian Monk , beheaded.
Catherine Monvoisin approx. 1640-1680 French Even La Voisin , born Deshayes, burned by the poison affair .
Thomas Doughty died 1578 English Nobleman and explorer, accused of witchcraft, mutiny and high treason by Sir Francis Drake , beheaded.
Mary Easty 1634-1692 British American colonies Hanged during the Salem witch trials .
Anna Eriksdotter 1624-1704 Swedish The last victim of the witch hunt in Sweden .
Matteuccia di Francesco died 1428 Italian Known as the "Witch of Ripabianca", she confessed to having flown on the wings of a demon. She was accused of being a prostitute, fornication with other women, and selling love potions and healing ointments made from the blood of newborns. She was burned. She is one of the first known victims of the witch hunt in Italy .
Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis died 1537 Scottish Accused of witchcraft by King James V , burned.
Dietrich Flade 1534-1589 German Electoral council, city school governor and governor of Trier , accused of witchcraft under the clerical Elector Johann VII von Schönenberg , strangled and burned.
Ann Glover died 1688 Irish, emigrated to the British-American colonies Last victim hanged in Boston for witchcraft .
Peronne Goguillon died 1679 French One of the last victims executed for witchcraft in France was cremated.
Anna Göldi died 1782 Swiss The last victim of the witch hunt in Switzerland, beheaded.
Sarah Good 1655-1692 British American colonies One of the first convicts of the Salem witch trials .
Urbain Grandier 1590-1634 French Priest, convicted during the trial of the Devils of Loudun , burned.
Mechteld ten Ham died 1605 Dutch Confessed to being tortured and burned.
Maria Harms died 1593 German She is the first woman known by name to be burned as a witch in Bonn .
Walpurga housewife died 1587 German Midwife who invented a sensational confession under torture, including the pact with the devil , child murder, witchcraft and vampirism . Was tortured in public on the way to the stake.
Katharina Henot 1570-1627 German Cologne patrician , postmaster and the most famous victim of the Cologne witch hunts . As an alleged witch, she was first strangled and then burned.
Adrienne d'Heur 1585-1646 French burned
Witches of Belvoir died 1618 English Joan Flower and her daughters Margaret and Philippa were referred to as witches of Belvoir. Joan Flower died in prison and her daughters were hanged in Lincoln .
Witches of Pendle died 1612 English From the court of asses in Lancaster on 18./19. August 1612 nine women and one man were sentenced to death by hanging. Two of Pendle's alleged witches were Anne Whittle (Chattox) and her daughter Anne Redferne (pictured).
Old woman and a bigger young woman
Alice Samuel, "Witches of Warboys" died 1593 English, Huntingdonshire Alice Samuel and her family were hanged.
Catharina Baumann died 1660 German Beheading and subsequent cremation of the body
Ann Hibbins June 19, 1656 British American colonies The fourth victim of the witch hunt in the Massachusetts Bay Colony , hanged on Boston Common .
Janet Horne died 1727 Scottish Last British woman executed for witchcraft burned.
Elin i Horsnäs died 1611 Swedish After her second witch trial, she was beheaded.
Elizabeth Howe 1635-1692 British American colonies Hanged during the Salem witch trials .
Sir George Jacobs 1620-1692 British American colonies Hanged during the Salem witch trials . The George Jacobs trial took place in 1692.
Mary Johnson circa 1648 British American colonies Executed in Hartford, Connecticut .
Margaret Jones died 1648 British American colonies Midwife, first victim of the witch hunt in Massachusetts Bay Colony , hanged.
Märet Jonsdotter 1644-1672 Swedish First victim of the great Swedish witch hunt called Det Stora Oväsendet ("The Great Rebellion") from 1668–1676, which killed around 280 people. She was beheaded.
Johannes Junius 1573-1628 German Bamberg mayor and councilor was convicted as a Trudner ( witcher ) and waited in the Bamberg Drudenhaus for the pyre.
Anna Koldings died 1590 Danish burned
Kolgrim approx. d. 1407 Greenland Kolgrim, also known as Kollgrim or Kolgrimr, was allegedly a Norwegian magician who was burned in Greenland for sorcery and adultery.
Barbara Koller (Schinder-Bärbel) approx. d. 1675 Salzburg First victim of the Salzburg magic boy trials in which over 150 people were killed, almost all of them beggars, including numerous children. Her son Schinderjackl was thought to have been a werewolf . But he was not caught.
Elisabeth Kurtzrock died 10/30/1628 German She was the landlady of an inn that still exists in Bonn today (Zur Blomen / Im Höttchen)
Christenze Kruckow 1558-1621 Danish Noblewoman, beheaded.
Leatherlips 1732-1810 North America American Indian leader ( Wyandot ) executed with a tomahawk for witchcraft .
Petronilla de Meath approx. 1300-1324 Irish Petronilla de Meath was an Irish maid, first woman in Ireland to be burned as a witch.
Lisbeth Nypan approx. 1610-1670 Norwegian Folk healer , burned.
Paisley witches died 1697 Scottish Also known as the Bargarran Witches, the last mass execution for witchcraft in Western Europe.
Anne Palles 1619-1693 Danish The last official victim of the witch hunt in Denmark, beheaded.
Pappenheimer family d. 1600 German Tortured and burned.
Maria Pauer 1730s-1750 Austria The last victim of the witch hunt in Austria, beheaded.
Anne Pedersdotter died 1590 Norwegian burned
Philipp from Lannesdorf died 9/13/1628 German He was suspected of being a " werewolf " of sorcery. In order to be on the safe side of his execution, before he was burned, his head was "cut off and his head stabbed a wolf druff and thus as an example laissen stain".
Elisabeth Plainacher 1513-1583 Austria The only victim of the witch hunt in Vienna , burned.
Polissena of San Macario died 1571 Italian burned
Marketta Punasuomalainen 1600s-1658 Finnish Folk healer , burned
Catherine Repond 1662-1731 Switzerland One of the last women accused of witchcraft and executed in Switzerland.
Jòn Rögnvaldsson died 1625 Icelandic burned
Maria Renata Singer from Mossau 1680-1749 German Nun and superior of the Unterzell monastery near Würzburg . She is considered the last Franconian victim of the witch hunt.
Agnes Sampson died 1591 Scottish Midwife, strangled and burned.
Anna Maria Schwegelin 1729-1781 German Sentenced to death as the last victim of the witch hunt in Germany in 1775, pardoned and died in prison in 1781.
Catarina Baumann 1587-1621 Switzerland Healer. Was accused of witchcraft and vampirism, hanged and then burned.
Soul mother of Küssnacht died 1577 Switzerland burned
Gyde Spandemager died 1543 Danish burned
Spliid approx. 1600-1641 Danish burned
Stedelen died approx. 1400 Switzerland Victims of the witch trials in Boltigen , Simmental under Peter von Greyerz . Under torture, Stedelen confessed to summoning demons and was burned.
Agnes Waterhouse approx. 1503-1566 English Agnes Waterhouse was hanged in Chelmsford, England in 1566. She was the first woman to be executed in England for alleged witchcraft.
Alse Young approx. 1600-1647 British American colonies The first recorded victim of the witch hunts in the American colonies, hanged.
Anna Roleffes 1600-1663 Germany One of the last women who was accused of being a "witch" and executed in the city of Braunschweig; beheaded and burned.
Barbara Zdunk 1769-1811 Polish burned
Sisters Anna and Brita Zippel died 1676 Swedish beheaded
Anna Rukit died 1651 German After confessing under torture that she could cure heart pain, gynecological diseases, make medicine for abortion, and teach other women how to use the medicine. Burned.
Leonard Weninger died 1795 unknown Nobleman, had lost all rights through imperial ban and was beheaded
Anna Kramer , called Bader-Ann 1619-1680 German Beheaded as a "witch" in Veringenstadt and then burned. Her torture shirt and the minutes of the "witch trial" have been preserved.

To commemorate Bader-Ann, a sculpture of her was erected in Veringenstadt in 1994.

Lauterfresser , actually Mathias (Matheus) Perger died 1645 Austria (now Italy) Was an alleged witcher in South Tyrol. As one of the most famous magicians in the country, his deeds are the subject of numerous South Tyrolean legends. The nickname comes from his preference for soft or liquid ("louder") food.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Brian P. Levack: The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe . Pearson Education, 2006, ISBN 0-582-41901-8 , p. 204
  2. a b c d Levack, p. 205
  3. ^ David D. Hall: Witch-Hunting in Seventeenth-Century New England: A Documentary History 1638-1693 . Duke University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-8223-3613-8 , page 4
  4. Judith Bloom Fraden, Dennis Brindell Fraden: The Salem Witch Trials . Marshall Cavendish, 2008, p. 15
  5. ^ Richard A. Stack: Dead wrong: violence, vengeance, and the victims of capital punishment . Greenwood Publishing, 2006, ISBN 0-275-99221-7 , p. 20
  6. ^ Alan Charles Kors, Edward Peters: Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700: a documentary history . University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8122-1751-9 , p. 17.
  7. ^ Scott A. Merriman: Religion and the law in America, Volume 1 . ABC-CLIO, 2007, ISBN 1-85109-863-1 , p. 527.
  8. ^ Levack
  9. ^ Anne Llewellyn Barstow: Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts . Pandora, 1994, ISBN 0-06-250049-X
  10. Ronald Hutton: The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft . Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-19-285449-6
  11. ^ George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana: The New American Cyclopaedia . D. Appleton and Company, 1859, p. 122.
  12. Maartje Vermeulen: Historici.nl . The Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands (Huygens ING) and the Royal Netherlands Historical Society (KNHG), 2013.
  13. Jeffrey Burton Russell: Witchcraft in the Middle Ages . Cornell University Press, 1984, ISBN 0-8014-9289-0 , p. 164.
  14. ^ Clarence F. Jewett: The memorial history of Boston: including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630-1880 . Ticknor and Company, 1881, pp. 138-141
  15. David D. Hall (Ed.): Witch-Hunting in Seventeenth-Century New England: A Documentary History 1638–1693 . Duke University Press Books, 2005, ISBN 978-0-8223-3613-6 , p. 75
  16. Bengt Ankarloo: Satans raseri: en sannfärdig berättelse om det stora häxoväsendet i Sverige och omgivande länder (2010)
  17. Women in Early America: Struggle, Survival, and Freedom in a New World , Dorothy A. Mays, 2004
  18. Giovanna Fiume: The Old Vinegar Lady . In: Brian P. Levack (Ed.): New Perspectives on Witchcraft, Magic, and Demonology: Witchcraft in the Modern World . Taylor & Francis , 2001, ISBN 0-8153-3670-5 , pp. 261-283.
  19. Jonet Boyman , Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland
  20. George Lincoln Burr: Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases 1648 to 1706 . Kessinger Publishing , 2003, ISBN 0-7661-5773-3 , p. 215. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed April 11, 2013). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / books.google.co.uk
  21. ^ Caroline E. Upham: Martha Carrier, in: Salem Witchcraft in Outline, pp. 111f. . Kessinger Publishing , 2003, ISBN 0-7661-3900-X , p. 111.
  22. Gaston Compère: Anne de Chantraine ou la Naissance d'une ombre , La Renaissance du livre, 2nd edition 2002, ISBN 978-2-8046-0665-7
  23. ^ Henry Charles Lea : Materials Toward a History of Witchcraft . Kessinger Publishing , 2004, ISBN 0-7661-8359-9 , p. 1118. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed April 11, 2013). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / books.google.co.uk
  24. rehabilitation of Michée Chauderon
  25. ^ Marianne Hester: Lewd Women and Wicked Witches: A Study of the Dynamics of Male Domination , Routledge 1992, ISBN 978-0-415-05209-2 , pp. 189f.
  26. Imps, warts and sex with the Devil: 400-year-old diary of Witchfinder General trials is opened to public for first time , Daily Mail
  27. ^ Caroline E. Upham: Martha Corey, in: Salem Witchcraft in Outline, p. 53f. . Kessinger Publishing , 2003, ISBN 0-7661-3900-X , p. 53.
  28. ^ Josef Niesen : Bonner Personenlexikon. 3rd, improved and enlarged edition. Bouvier, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-416-03352-7 , p. 100.
  29. Robinson, Gregory. The Trial and Death of Thomas Doughty. In: The Mariner's Mirror 7 (1921): 271-282
  30. ^ Caroline E. Upham: Mary Easty, in: Salem Witchcraft in Outline, pp. 95f. . Kessinger Publishing , 2003, ISBN 0-7661-3900-X , p. 95.
  31. Häxprocesser ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Per-Erik Melander @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.perm1949.se
  32. Bengt Ankarloo, Gustav Henningsen: Early Modern European Witchcraft. Centers and Peripheries , Oxford University Press 1996, ISBN 978-0-19-820388-9 ; 132f.
  33. Domenico Mammoli (ed.): Processo alla strega Matteuccia di Francesco, 20 March 1428, 1969
  34. Montague Summers: Geography of Witchcraft , Kessinger Publishing 2003 (first edition 1927), ISBN 978-0-313-39758-5 , p. 208
  35. ^ Robert Muchembled, Martine Desmons: Les derniers bûchers: un village de Flandre et ses sorcières sous Louis XIV , Ramsay 1981, ISBN 978-2-85956-216-8 , pp. 160f.
  36. Jonathan Bryan Durrant, Michael David Bailey: Historical Dictionary of Witchcraft , Scarecrow Press 2003, ISBN 978-0-8108-4860-3 , pp. 126f.
  37. ^ Josef Niesen: Bonner Personenlexikon. 3rd, improved and enlarged edition. Bouvier, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-416-03352-7 , p. 187.
  38. ^ Henry Charles Lea: Materials Toward a History of Witchcraft , Volume 3, Kessinger 2004 (1890), ISBN 978-0-7661-8359-9 , pp. 1205f.
  39. ^ W. and R. Chambers (1869): Chambers Book of Days - The Witches of Belvoir , electronic reprint of the original edition: Chambers's Book of Days. JB Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia 1879, Retrieved April 15, 2013
  40. Karsten Alnaes: Historien om Europe. Uppvaknande, 1300–1600 (A História da Europa. Awakening, 1300–1600)
  41. ^ Josef Niesen: Bonner Personenlexikon. 3rd, improved and enlarged edition. Bouvier, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-416-03352-7 , p. 262 f.
  42. ^ William Henry Carpenter , Timothy Shay Arthur: The History of Ohio: From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time . Lippincott, Grambo & co., 1854, p. 209.
  43. Davidson, Sharon, and John O. Ward, trans. The Sorcery Trial of Alice Kyteler: A Contemporary Account (1324) . Asheville, NC: Pegasus Press, 2004
  44. ^ William E. Burns: Witch hunts in Europe and America: an encyclopedia , 2003, Greenwood Publishing Group, page 3, ISBN 978-0-313-32142-9
  45. Michael Kunze: Road into the fire: From living and dying in the time of the witch madness . Kindler, 1982, ISBN 3-463-00838-6
  46. ^ Josef Niesen: Bonner Personenlexikon. 3rd, improved and enlarged edition. Bouvier, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-416-03352-7 , p. 362.
  47. Hand dictionary of German superstition: Aal - Butzemann, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer, Association of German Associations for Folklore, Hanns Baechtold-Staeubli, Walter de Gruyter, January 1, 1927 - 928 pages, column 1479
  48. ^ Sources and studies on the history of the witch madness and the witch hunt in the Middle Ages , Hansen, Joseph and Franck, Johannes, Bonn, 10901, pages 92 and 94