This week, we explore the first large-scale witch hunt in European history. Occurring in the French-speaking region of Switzerland, the Valais Witch Trials led to the execution of 376 people, the majority of which were men. Tune in to hear how a coordinated effort to eliminate heretical sects in the region turned into a widespread hunt for witches accused flying through the night to plan their devilish deeds. This episode looks at the origins and deadly legacy of this witch hunt, as well as what separates the events that occurred in Valais from other witch hunts that followed.

Sources:

Hans Peter Broedel, “Fifteenth-century witch beliefs”/ in Brian P. Levack (ed.), The Oxford handbook of witchcraft in early modern Europe and colonial America, Oxford University Press, 2013.

Phil Carradice, Witches and Witch Hunts Through the Ages (Pen & Sword Books, 2024).

B.F. Cotterill, The Witch Hunts. In: Are Children Reliable Witnesses? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022).

Richard Kieckhefer, "Mythologies of Witchcraft in the Fifteenth Century," Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft 1, no. 1 (2006): 79-108.

Lois Martin, A Brief History of Witchcraft (Running Press, 2010).

P. G. Maxwell-Stuart, Witch Beliefs and Witch Trials in the Middle Ages : Documents and Readings, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.

Kathrin Utz Tremp, The Heresy of Witchcraft in Western Switzerland and Dauphiné (Fifteenth Century) in Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft, Vol. 6, No. 1 (2011): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1353/mrw.2011.0008

Written and recorded by: Kenyon Payne

Theme music: "Southern Gothic" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Outro music: “D´vil,” anrocomposer

Additional featured music:

The following songs are all by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“Dragon and Toast”

“Ossuary 2 - Turn”

“The Other Side of the Door”

“Dark Standoff”

“Political Ad”

“Darkest Child”

“Ghost Processional”

“Morgana Rides”

“Thunder Dreams”

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This episode dives into the history behind one of the most significant texts in the history of the early modern witch hunts that took hold across several European countries, the Malleus Maleficarum. This consequential text defined what constituted a witch, the depravity of witches and their practices, and ultimately served as a guide through the legal processes one would need to pursue in order to secure a conviction and an execution of such a witch. This book retains one of the bloodiest legacies in history. Take a listen to learn where it came from, and what effect it had on the expansive waves of witch hunts in early modern European history.

Sources:

Pope Innocent VIII, Summis desiderantes affectibus (December 5, 1484), from George L. Burr, ed., The Witch-Persecutions Vol. 3, No. 4 (1896).

Heinrich Kraemer, Malleus Maleficarum, English translation by Rev. Montague Summers (1928).

Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), republished by Dover Publications, 1972.

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Arran Birks, “The ‘Hammer of Witches’: An Earthquake in the Early Witch Craze,” The Historian (January 24, 2020).

Hans Peter Broedel, “The Malleus Maleficarum and the Construction of Witchcraft: Theology and Popular Belief,” in Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe, edited by Merry E. Wiesner (2007).

Joni Creed, “King James VI and I: Witch-Hunter and Protector of the Realm,” MA Thesis (2020).

Maral Deyrmenjian, “Pope Innocent VIII (1484-1492) and the Summis desiderantes affectibus” (2020).

Vera Hoorens, Hans Renders, “Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Witchcraft: A Reappraisal,” The Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 43, No. 1 (Spring 2012): 3-18.

Lois Martin, A Brief History of Witchcraft (Running Press, 2010).

Written and recorded by: Kenyon Payne

Theme music: "Southern Gothic" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Outro music: “D´vil,” anrocomposer

Additional featured music:

By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com):

"SCP-x1x"

"Satiate Percussion"

"Metaphysik"

"Crowd Hammer"

"Danse of Questionable Tuning"

"Heavy Heart"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode explores a familiar, oft-repeated tale of the ill-fated love shared between the lowly Agnes Bernaur and noble Albrecht, the future Duke of Bavaria. In a story that has come to shape the history and lore of the German city of Augsburg, we will see how a love shared between people from different worlds is ripped apart as Albrecht’s father took extreme measures to keep the two apart by accusing Agnes of being a witch.

Sources:

Anna Bond, “A Study of Agnes Bernauer,” Master’s Thesis, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1906).

Henry Garland and Mary Garland, eds., The Oxford Companion to German Literature, third edition (Oxford University Press, 1997).

P.G. Maxwell-Stuart, Witch Beliefs and Witch Trials in the Middle Ages: Documents and Readings (2011).

Ritchie Robertson, “Hebbel: Agnes Bernaur (1852),” German Political Tragedy (2024).

Lyndal Roper, The Witch in the Western Imagination, University of Virginia Press (2012).

Written and recorded by: Kenyon Payne

Theme music: "Southern Gothic" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Outro music: “D´vil,” anrocomposer

Additional featured music:

“Virtutes Instrumenti,” “Mourning Song,” and “Night Vigil” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

“Space Ambient SiFi,” Lexin_Music

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.