In the early modern period of the 16th/17th century, not in the supposedly dark Middle Ages, women were also suspected of sorcery and persecuted as witches in Münster. Elector Ferdinand of Bavaria, who was also Prince-Bishop of Münster from 1612 to 1650, is regarded as a major promoter of the so-called witch trials. We will report on individual fates at various locations and describe the judicial process, which today is seen as a cruel injustice. Other persecuted offenses committed by women in early modern Münster will also be discussed: the violation of honour, theft, unpeacefulness, quarrelsomeness or moral crimes such as infanticide, procuration, marital violence or prostitution.
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