Re: ancestral information
Jenny
jenny@panix.com
Mon Jul 24 13:07:04 2000
Hi Winnie,*p*Given what you've said, I think the odds are good that you have witches in your family tree.  Germany (the Holy Roman Empire) killed approximately one half of all the people who died in the Burning Times.  Moreover the persecutions tended to center on the western and southern regions.  Westphalia and Hesse both had intense witch-hunting.*p*Unfortunately I don't know where you'd find information in Germany.  But I can recommend some books on German witch-hunting, which might be helpful.*p*I think the book you really want to find is H.C. Erik Midelfort's _Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany, 1562-1684_ (1972).  Not only is it a superb book, it contains (if I remember correctly) a list of about 2300 people killed in the witch-hunts of western Germany.  You might be able to find some ancestors in that list.*p*Much of the recent research on Germany hasn't been translated into English.  However if you read German, you may want to check out a couple books that focus on the trials in western Germany:*p*E. Labouvie's _Zauberei und Hexenwerk:  Landlicher Hexenglaube in der fruhen Neuzeit_ (1991)*p*and *p*W. Rummel's _Bauern, Herren, und Hexen.  Studien zur Sozialgeschichte sponheimischer und kurtrierische Hexenprozesse 1574-1664.  (1991).*p*The only other angle I can think of is to visit your ancestors' home towns and look for books on local history.  If there were witch hunts there, you may be able to find more clues.*p*Good luck and Bright Blessings!*p*Jenny*br*
ancestral information
Winnie
254
Wed Jul 19 11:50:49 2000