Stedelen (dead c. 1400) was a man who was accused of being a
witch
Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...
in
Boltigen,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
between 1397 and 1406.
Background
After the harvest had failed at his village, Stedelen was accused of using
black magic to destroy the crops, killing cattle
and also sacrificing a black rooster on the Sabbath at a crossroad and placing a lizard under the doorway of a local church.
Peter von Greyerz, the judge of
Simmental between 1398–1406, was a firm believer in witchcraft, which he believed had been introduced in Simmental by a noble man called Scavius in 1375, who claimed he could transform himself to a mouse (as recorded in
Johannes Nider
Johannes Nider ( – 13 August 1438) was a German theologian.
Life
Nider was born in Swabia. He entered the Order of Preachers at Colmar and after profession was sent to Vienna for his philosophical studies, which he finished at Cologne, where h ...
's seminal work ''
Formicarius
The ''Formicarius'', written 1436–1438 by Johannes Nider during the Council of Florence and first printed in 1475, is the second book ever printed to discuss witchcraft (the first book being Alphonso de Spina's ''Fortalitium Fidei''). Nider d ...
'').
Scavius was slaughtered by his enemies, but he had a student, Hoppo, who, according to Greyerz, had been the tutor of Stedelen.
There are no records about Hoppo, but Stedelen from
Boltigen had allegedly been made an expert on magic by Hoppo, and supposedly learned to steal manure, hay and such from others' fields to his own by magic, create hail and thunderstorms, make people and animals sterile, make horses crazy when he touched their hooves, fly, and scare those who captured him. Greyerz also accused Stedelen of having taken the milk from the cows of a married couple in order to make the wife miscarry.
Trial
His trial took place in a
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
court, Stedelen admitted to the charge (under torture) of summoning forth
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including
f ...
s as part of a
pact with the Devil and being part of a cult.
Stedelen was
burned at the stake.
Greyerz believed there existed a satanic cult, whose members swore themselves to the Devil and ate children at the churches at night. He continued his persecutions and once tortured a woman to confirm this.
See also
*
Deal with the Devil
*
Witch trial
*
Witchcraft
Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
References
Sources
* Eva Kärfve, "Den stora ondskan i Valais", (Swedish).
*
* Formicarius NIDER (Johannes) Augsburg, Anton Sorg
bout 1484 folio (An - y.9)
External links
Hexerei - the Pact with the Devil (Link is dead)
Swiss people executed for witchcraft
Swiss torture victims
People executed by Switzerland by burning
15th-century Swiss people
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