Schad (family)

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Margreth Schad (* around 1598 in Flörsheim ; † 6 July 1617 ibid), Johann Schad (* in Flörsheim ; † 6 July 1617 ibid) and Ela Schad (in Flörsheim ; † 6 July 1617 ibid) were victims of the witch trials in Flörsheim in the area of ​​the Archdiocese of Mainz .

Life

Burning of three witches in Derneburg, 1555, leaflet, 16th century

Margreth Schad was the daughter of the Flörsheim farmer and winemaker Jakob Schad. Together with her father and her siblings, the 21-year-old Johann and the 17-year-old Ela, she got caught in the witch hunt in Flörsheim. Cloß Schad, the youngest of the Schad children, was only 15 years old and was not charged.

Witch trials in Flörsheim

In Flörsheim, Weilbach and Wicker , over 71 women, men and children fell victim to the witch craze between 1595 and 1630. The years 1615–1618 were the main focus of the Flörsheim witch hunt. Several are said to have been executed on the Hexenberg. Johann Traberger, public notary and procurator (lawyer) of the electoral court in Mainz, wrote an extract from the Flörsheimer Hexischen Inquisitionprotokoll .

It was a bad time for the people: The population suffered from the Little Ice Age with long, severe winters and cold, wet summers. Bad harvests, rising prices and famine were the result. They looked for scapegoats. Hysterical witch hunts began everywhere. The accused were convicted in the witch trials on charges that their witchcraft caused cold rain or hail with fatal consequences for food production.

However, the witch trials may be based on disputes between servants of the wealthy Mainz monasteries in Flörsheim and wealthy independent winegrowers. Independent farming families were accused of witchcraft. First, in 1615, the farmer and winemaker Jakob Schad from Flörsheim was burned at the stake as a sorcerer.

Witches trial against Johann Schad

Jakob Schad's children were accused of witchcraft several times in the minutes that the bailiff von Höchst sent to the secular councils in Mainz. The three older children were arrested and interrogated on June 9, 1617. When the siblings denied any guilt, the " embarrassing questioning " began. The 21-year-old Johann Schad told the mayor and jury that he had nothing bad to say to the gentlemen. He was falsely slandered. When the executioners put the leg screws on him, he cried out in pain: For God's sake and the Last Judgment, to spare my life. I want to say everything. He confessed to the devil's allegiance on Walpurgis Night .

Relentlessly the mayor went through the 98 questions of the Specialia Interrogatoria . When Johann did not want to continue, the executioner used the torture method of winding up and tortured the young man. Yes, he would have used the devil's ointment on his left hand. The wicked one would have forbidden him to go to church and use the sacraments. He killed a pig and threw it into the Main. He had ruined the fruit through ripe. Corn as well as vineyards would have been damaged. His two sisters were there. His father would have taught him intercourse among men. In the end, Johann promised the court to stick to his statements on the embarrassing court day, to take the Lord's Supper and to testify in front of the accused.

Witches trial against Margreth Schad

The 19-year-old Margreth Schad was interrogated kindly, testified: She was a good person. The executioner then put the leg screws on her. In pain she said that the father must have done it, but did not know what he did. The leg screws were tightened more firmly. Margreth shouted: She must die, dearest Vattergen. The executioner showed no mercy and intensified the torture. O you dear father in the high sky. Will not let a cancer [leg screw] come on her body if she knew it. You have not seduced anyone or made a hoop. The executioner went on to the third step at the leg screws. When the 19-year-old girl's legs were crushed, she also accused her younger sister Ela.

Witch trial against Ela Schad

The 17-year-old Ela immediately confessed during interrogation without having seen the executioner and his instruments. She mentioned many names, including Brother Johann and Sister Margreth. In July they would have helped spoil the vineyards and the apples.

The secular councils found on 26 June 1617 found that the three siblings harmful to their confessions to the rejection of God and the commitment to the devil, the killing of people and livestock and damage spell were guilty. However, the Mainz lawyers criticized the confused interrogation protocols. The rules for embarrassing interrogations should be followed closely. The lay judges sentenced her to death by burning her in fire. The execution took place on July 6, 1617.

Commemoration

The fate of Jakob Schad's three children is representative of the people executed in Flörsheim. Her life is described in the book by Franz Luschberger: Witches Trials between Main and Taunus .

On September 16, 2013, three taller memorial plaques were erected on the old "Hexenberg" in Flörsheim above the Obermühle. The memorial plaques bear the names of Margreth Schad and her siblings as well as the other documented people from Flörsheim, Wicker and Weilbach who, as supposed witches and wizards, lost their lives between 1595 and 1630 or were denounced, arrested and tortured and had to leave their homeland .

literature

  • Franz Luschberger: witch trials between Main and Taunus, protocol of revelations and cruelty , Hochheim am Main 1991, page 96-103
  • Peter Becker: Apollonia , 2002, pp. 102, 104
  • Horst Heinrich Gebhard: Witch trials in the Electorate of Mainz in the 17th century , Aschaffenburg 1989

Individual evidence

  1. Peter Becker: Apollonia , Flörsheim, 2002, pp. 177-183.
  2. Archived copy ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2014 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.main-spitze.de