Nicolas Rémy

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Nicolas Rémy (lat. Nicolaus Remigius) (* between 1525 and 1530; † 1612) was a ducal-Lorraine privy councilor and chief judge who became known as a witch hunter, comparable to Jean Bodin and Pierre de Lancre . In terms of writing, he appeared primarily as a witch theorist .

Rémy studied law and worked as a judge. On March 15, 1570 he was appointed lieutenant general in the Bailliage des Vosges as the successor to his uncle François Mittat . In 1575 he became secretary to the Duke of Lorraine, Charles III. , and pursued witches. In 1606 Rémy handed over his office to his son Claude Rémy.

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Nicolas Rémy became known with the witch's tract Démonolâtrie , which he wrote on the advice of the Duke of Lorraine. In 1595 it appeared in Latin under the title Daemonolatreiae Libri III , in German: Three books from the devil cult in Lyon. In 1598 it was first available in a German translation: Daemonolatria that is of fiends and magical spirits, des Edlenn, Ehrnvesten and Hochgelarten Mr. Nicolai Remigii, des durchl. Drawn in Lothrigen Secret Councils and Embarrassing Things Cognitoris publici , which then experienced several editions. Finally it replaced the witch hammer as the most famous witch manual. This popularity can perhaps be explained by the fact that Rémy gave an answer and a specific case study for almost every eventuality. According to the conviction of the time, he argued that it was equally punishable whether a witch actually mastered the witch's flight or just imagined her flying after she had coated herself with a flying ointment. He agreed with the belief in witches of the time, but in his treatise , unlike many other authors of his time, does not simply take over the theological theses on the doctrine of witches compiled in Hexenhammer , but rather tries to look at the topic from a legal and historical point of view. For example, a whole chapter of his treatise deals with the general difficulties involved in criminal trials against minors.

Rémy claims to have committed around 900 people to execution for witchcraft between 1591 and 1606, of whom he lists 128 by name. However, the numbers cannot be verified as the relevant court records have been lost. Rémy writes that about the same number of accused escaped before the execution or did not make a confession, so that a conviction was excluded, 15 people died before their conviction.

literature

  • Manfred Hammes: Witch Mania and Witch Trials , Fischer, Frankfurt / M. 1989, ISBN 3-596-21818-7
  • Elisabeth Biesel, witch hunt, folk magic and social conflicts in the Lorraine region (Trier witch trials. Sources and representations)
  • Lucien Dintzer, Nicolas Rémy et son oevre démonologique Lyon, 1936
  • Nicolaus Equiamicus (ed.) Nicolas Rémy, Daemonolatreia or Teufelsdienst , UBooks-Verlag 2009 ISBN 978-386-608113-0
  • Jean Boës, La Démonolâtrie, texte établi et annoté à partir de l'édition de 1595 , Nancy, PU, ​​1998, 338 p .; Marie-Nelly Fouligny, Les sources antiques dans la Démonolâtrie de Nicolas Rémy , thèse de doctorat d'études latines, université de Nancy II, 1998, 1059 p. sous la direction du professeur Jean Boës.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Histoire chronologique de la Lorraine Des premiers Celtes à nos jours by Laurent Martino, Éditions Place Stanislas, 2009, ISBN 978-2-35578-0387 , page 108
personal data
SURNAME Rémy, Nicolas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Remigius, Nicolaus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ducal Lorraine privy councilor and chief judge
DATE OF BIRTH between 1525 and 1530
DATE OF DEATH 1612