Margarete Bucklin

Margarete Bucklin (date of birth and death unknown, from Petersaurach ) was indicted in a witch trial in 1594 at the time of the witch persecution in the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach .

Margarete Bucklin was imprisoned for a month in 1594 on suspicion of witchcraft. She was released because she had not made a confession despite severe torture .

What is extraordinary in this case is that a woman herself rebelled without male support and fought for her honor and her good reputation: she wrote - or presumably had one written - a petition to the margrave in Ansbach. In such a dangerous situation, this shows great courage and self-confidence and a pronounced sense of justice.

In her petition she described the events from her point of view in great detail. In doing so, she admitted that in anger she had said or done some things that could have been reproached or misinterpreted. Nevertheless, she considered the actions of the man who denounced her to be completely unjustified. She also felt that she was treated unfairly by the arrest, interrogation and embarrassing questioning. So she asked the margrave, “he would have mercy on her ... and order that he reimburse and pay all expenses incurred, as well as withdraw his suspicions towards her in public and declare that he has nothing about her other than what is honorable, dear and good to know. "

On the basis of this petition, the informer was actually questioned again in court. However, he still felt that he was right and rejected Margarete Bucklin's accusations. He also wrote a detailed account of what happened and said that she had no reason to complain. Between the lines of his letter he revealed what he actually thought of her, namely that she was obviously not entirely sane.

It is not clear from the files whether Margarete Bucklin was finally rehabilitated. While her trial did not end with her execution, it did end with the destruction of the very foundations of her existence.

literature

• Traudl Kleefeld: Witch persecution in the Margrave of Ansbach in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Margrave Georg Friedrich (1556–1603) , in: Traudl Kleefeld / Hans Gräser / Gernot Stepper: Witch persecution in the Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and in the rule of Sugenheim. With sources from the district of Crailsheim , Ansbach 2001, ISBN 3-87707-573-8 , here: p. 79