Torture and the Witchcraze of Early Modern Europe

Where did the differences lie in the trials, torture and execution of men and women tried for witchcraft? There are certainly similarities. Both men and women tried were often, although certainly not always, from the lowest social classes. Men and children accused of witchcraft were frequently linked by either family or marriage to women tried for witchcraft. That all said, women made up the vast majority of the accused. The differences lie not only in the numbers, but also in the accusations, the trials and torture, and the eventual punishment.

Women were accused of a number of gender-specific crimes, particularly sexual crimes. Allegations concerning devil worship often had a sexual content, both in orgies that occurred at the Sabbats and in sexual relationships with the devil himself. These charges are often fantastic, and, to the modern reader, ridiculous. They included copulating indiscriminately with nearly anyone or everyone, kissing the devil's ass, and being seduced by demons. Witches were also accused of a number of less supernatural gender-specific offenses, including adultery, abortion, and infanticide. Fathers accused of infanticide were not punished or were lightly fined, while mothers were put to death. Midwives were particularly at risk for these types of accusations. At least one woman was executed for teaching other women about contraception. In France, for instance, women were required to register their pregnancies and have someone witness the birth or be prosecuted and executed for murder if the infant died. The emphasis on these crimes clearly reveals the lack of power women held in early modern Europe.

The trials of nearly all those accused of witchcraft in Central Europe included torture to induce the accused to confess. As has been previously discussed, the (male) torturers frequently used gender specific, sexually abusive forms of torture. Rape was not uncommon, and was, in all likelihood, far more common than the records lead us to believe. Under torture, many women confessed to the crimes typically believed true of witches, and also accused others in an attempt to lessen their own punishment.

The punishment of witches in Germany was more severe and more disturbing than in the rest of Central Europe. Gratuitous public torture often preceded execution. Women were typically burned alive, rather than being strangled first. The patterns of torture and execution of women in Germany are particularly important to a thorough understanding of the impact of the witch hunts on the common people, particularly women.

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