Man As Witch: Male Witches in Central Europe

Witch-hunts were by no means focused only on women – one in four alleged witches in Central Europe was male. This study traces the witch trials of men in French and German speaking regions in Central Europe, opening up a little known chapter of early modern times. The author analyzes the proportion of accused men in the witch-hunts, describes their trials and explores the conflicts from which witch-hunts involving men evolved.

One in four alleged witches in Central Europe was male. This study traces the witch trials during which these accused male witches were prosecuted and executed, opening up a little known chapter of early modern times. The book provides statistics on the number of men affected by witch hunts and describes specific regional differences in the way witch hunts were pursued in different parts of Central Europe. A gender analysis of contemporary theological and demonologic literature shows that the concept of what constituted a witch was by no means homogenous or focused only on women. In order to elucidate the social profile and personal fates of alleged male witches, the author depicts the conflict situations from which trials of men arose and uses the original records to describe such trials.

List of Contents
The Trial of Peter Kleikamp or So Many Questions
The Persecution of Men as Werewolves in Burgundy
Male Witches on Trial: an Empirical Approach
Witchhunts and the Male Witch: a Chronology
Men as Potential Witches in Demonological Treatises
Magic and Gender in Popular Culture
The Persecution of Male Witches in Holstein
Carinthia. Wanted: Beggar, Male
Male Witches, Feminized Men or Shamans?
The Power of the 'Witch Folk' and the Rulers
Notes
Bibliograpy
Index

Author Biography
ROLF SCHULTE is a Teaching Fellow at the University of Kiel in Germany. His research and publications centre on witch hunts in early modern times, as well as nineteenth and twentieth century German and European History.