Ulrich Molitor

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ulrich Molitor, in the middle between Duke Siegmund and Konrad Schatz during the dedication

Ulrich Molitor , also (Ulrich) Molitoris (* around 1442 in Konstanz ; † 1507 or 1508 ), was a lawyer and witch theorist who, with his treatise De lamiis et phitonicis mulieribus ("Of the fiends or witches") published in 1489, opposed the " Hexenhammer " from 1487 judged.

Life

Ulrich Molitor came from Constance . In 1461 he enrolled at the University of Basel . From 1465 to 1469 he studied law at the University of Pavia , the legal branch of which went back to the 11th century and which was highly regarded among the law faculties of the 15th century. After receiving his doctorate in canon law in 1470, Molitor worked as a notary at the episcopal court in his home town of Constance. Because of his position, Molitor was repeatedly involved in disputes between the bishops and the city of Constance. Since Ulrich Molitor refused to take the oath of office to the newly elected bishop Thomas Berlower in 1492 , he lost his office as episcopal notary in February 1493. In 1493 he was called to Innsbruck to the court of Duke Siegmund of Tyrol . This was followed by the appointment as Chancellor of the Duchy of Tyrol (1495/1496). With a recommendation from the Roman-German King Maximilian I , he became procurator at the Imperial Court of Justice in 1497 and died in 1507 (or 1508). Ulrich Molitor left six children behind.

Ulrich Molitor wrote four legal treatises. As a gift of thanks for the appointment on May 29, 1488 to the council of Duke Siegmund of Tyrol, his most famous work was created: " Tractatus de lamiis et phitonicis mulieribus ". The treatise , which was written in Latin in the form of a dialogue between the author, his teacher and lawyer Konrad Stürtzel and the mayor of Konstanz Konrad Schatz , dealt with the witch issue, which was then controversial in Upper Germany , and appeared in several successive editions from 1489 onwards. Even before 1500, with Molitor's approval, a German broadcast “ Von den Unholden oder Hexen ” appeared. The witch trials against 48 women in the Diocese of Constance (1481–1485) were also reflected in his treatise . The little book of witches was published until the late 16th century.

Witch theorists

As one of the first authors, Molitor narrowed the term witch to the female gender and referred to witches as heretics who have fallen away from God. The pact with the devil put Molitor nor in the " Malleus described" sex with the Devil in question.

Lawyer Molitor declined the confessions obtained through torture as evidence. He denied the conception of the power of the devil and the witch to cause damage - only with God's permission can they cause harm. Nevertheless, he advocated that witches should be punished with the death penalty for their apostasy from God.

Illustrations of the alleged witch and witch crime

Witchcraft treatise " Tractatus de lamiis et phitonicis mulieribus "

The seven woodcut illustrations from Ulrich Molitor's book “ De lamiis et phitonicis mulieribus ” are well known: Reutlingen edition, J. Otmar, around 1489, which appeared in several versions from 1489 onwards. The probably oldest known print was published by J. Otmar in Reutlingen in the spring of 1489. Jörg Mauz placed the Ulm edition of Zainer before the Strasbourg edition of Prüß in his dissertation from 1983, since the first woodcut Molitor with Konrad Schatz starts with the dedication of his treatise shows Duke Siegmund. The Reutlingen editions also contain this dedication sheet as well as the most detailed descriptions of the denunciations on record and negotiated in the area of ​​the Diocese of Constance. Therefore they are to be regarded as the earliest received editions. In these original versions, witches and sorcerers are still shown balanced. The representations were not related to the text. In later editions the wolf banner was feminized and the Freischütz stylized as a victim (lumbago). The buildings formerly regarded as churches and chapels are the pictograms of the cities of perdition. The seven woodcuts in the Reutlingen edition by Otmar show in detail:

  • Dedication : Ulrich Molitor, in the middle next to Konrad Schatz, hands Herzog Siegmund his treatise.
  • The Freischütz vom Holenstein : Divine Providence personified as a woman (!) Directs the arrow of the Freischütz aiming at a wayside shrine in his own foot near the mountain Holenstein (near Zihlschacht in Thurgau, Switzerland).
  • Transformation and flying magic : a central sorcerer and two witches fly on a forked stick.
  • The wolf rider of Constance : The wolf banner rides on the road to Constance, see: Molitors Schriften, J. Mauz (ed.), 1997, p. 81.
  • The witch von Waldshut , the witch and the devilish lover have dug a small pit on a mountain, see: Hexenhammer, Jerouschek, Munich, 2000, p. 392.
  • The witch's brew : a harmful spell that often occurs in the primeval tales to produce hail.
  • The Hexensud : one in the Urgichten of common malicious magic to produce hail.
  • The Witches' Sabbath of Constance : Three witches come together for a meal in Constance.

  • dedication

  • Freischütz

  • Transformation and magic in flight

  • Devil's Subsidy

  • Weather making

  • Witches' meal

Fonts

  • Somnium comedie , 1475 in Cod. Poet. Et phil. 4 ° 47, fol 51-91 of the Württemberg State Library
  • Legal opinion on the trade regulations , 1485, manuscript A II 28, fol 38-50, of the Konstanz City Archives
  • De lamiis et phitonicis mulieribus , 1489
  • From the monsters or witches , German version of the "De lamiis et phitonicis mulieribus", before 1500, Zainer, Ulm
  • Peace of the Land , 1495

See also

literature

  • K. Schulz .:  Molitoris, Ulrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 22, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1885, p. 111.
  • Edward Bever: Ulrich Molitor (1442-1508). In: Richard M. Golden (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Witchcraft. The western tradition. Volume 3. Santa Barbara / Denver / Oxford 2006, pp. 776-777.
  • Jürgen Beyer: Molitor, Ulrich. In: Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales. Concise dictionary for historical and comparative narrative research. Volume 9. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1997–1999, Col. 767–769.
  • Wolfgang Ziegeler: Possibilities of criticizing witchcraft and magical beings in the late Middle Ages. Contemporary voices and their social affiliation (= collective attitudes and social change in the Middle Ages. Volume 2). Cologne / Vienna 1973.
  • Jörg Mauz: Ulrich Molitoris from Konstanz (approx. 1442–1507). Philosophical dissertation Konstanz 1983.
  • Gerd Schwerhoff: Rationality in madness. On the scholarly discourse about witches in the early modern period. In: Saeculum. Volume 37, 1986, pp. 45-82.
  • Martina Deter: Ulrich Molitoris and Johannes Geiler von Kaisersberg and the beginnings of the witch craze in Germany. 1988.
  • Jörg Mauz: Ulrich Molitoris. A South German humanist and legal scholar. Vienna 1992.
  • Ulrich Molitoris: Writings. Edited by Jörg Mauz (= Studies on Cultural History. Volume 1). Constance 1997.
  • Ulrich Molitor: Of monsters and witches. Annotated retransmission from early New High German. Diedorf 2008, ISBN 978-3-86608-089-8 .
  • Julia Gold: "From the vnholden or witches". Studies on the text and context of a treatise by Ulrich Molitoris (= Spolia Berolinensia. Volume 35). Hildesheim 2016.

Web links

Commons : From the fiends or witches  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

swell

  1. ↑ Thomas Gawron and Jens Geiling: Ulrich Molitor, historicum.net, 2007
  2. ↑ Jörg Mauz: Ulrich Molitoris from Konstanz - life and writings, university dissertation, Konstanz, 1983, p. 100
  3. ↑ Jörg Mauz (ed.): Ulrich Molitors Schriften, Verlag am Hockgraben, Konstanz, 1997, p. 65
  4. ^ De lamiis et phitonicis mulieribus
  5. ↑ Jörg Mauz: Ulrich Molitoris from Konstanz - Life and Writings, University Dissertation, Konstanz, 1983, p. 199
personal data
SURNAME Molitor, Ulrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German witch theorist
DATE OF BIRTH 1442
PLACE OF BIRTH Constancy
DATE OF DEATH 1507
Place of death Constancy