Herren und Hexen in der Nordeifel. Darstellung – Edition – Vergleiche

This volume marks the first conclusion of the project "Lords and Witches: Witch Trials in the Northern Eifel and Neighboring Regions" (Herren und Hexen. Hexenprozesse in der Nordeifel und in angrenzenden Regionen). The project was funded by the Rhineland Regional Association, the Euskirchen District History Society, and the University of Trier.

Edited by Rita Voltmer in collaboration with Claudia Kauertz, Jan Kreller, Gabriele Rünger, Simon Tretter, and Karin Trieschnigg, the book combines three publication formats:

The monographic presentation section places the Schmidtheim witch hunts from 1597 to 1635 (under Reinhard the Younger and his son Bertram Beissel von Gymnich) in the context of relevant events in the Eifel and in Europe (Rita Voltmer, pp. 3-152). The Schmidtheim witch hunts, with approximately 60 executions (and thus almost 50% of the adult population), are exemplary of the events in the entire Eifel region, which was one of the most persecution-intensive areas in Europe.

The edited section, edited by Rita Voltmer and Simon Tretter in collaboration with Jan Kreller and Ernst Voltmer, presents thirteen Schmidtheim court records from the period 1599 to 1635. Each record represents a particular aspect of the witch trials there. The edition aims to meet both historical and linguistic requirements. A list of the court proceedings conducted in Schmidtheim, two glossaries (of source terms and place names), registers prefixed to the records, and commentary footnotes facilitate access to the content of the texts, which are presented line by line, word by word, and letter by letter (pp. 175–411).

The essay section (from p. 413) presents five contributions from the conference "Lords and Witches: On the Political Relevance of an Early Modern Enemy Image," held on November 7 and 8, 2014, in the seminar house of Schweinheim Monastery. These essays provide insight into comparable events in Flamersheim and Müddersheim (Claudia Kauertz), Rheinbach (Thomas P. Becker), and in the Electorate of the Palatinate, in Electorate of Trier, and their condominiums (Walter Rummel). Katrin Moeller's contribution on witch hunts in a small Mecklenburg town offers further perspectives.

Numerous illustrations (many in color), an overview map, glossaries, and place indexes facilitate the use of this comprehensive volume (over 570 pages), which provides new insights and materials for international witchcraft research, local and regional history, linguistics, and legal and cultural history.

Table of Contents (pdf)