Torsåker witch trials
Encyclopedia
The Torsåker witch trials took place in 1675 in Torsåker parish
, Sweden
. 71 people: 6 men and 65 women were beheaded and then burned, all in a single day. This was the largest witch trial
in Swedish history.
of Ytterlännäs
parish, was told by Johannes Wattrangius, of Torsåker parish
, to investigate witchcraft
in his parish. Ytterlännäs and Torsåker were both in the Diocese of Härnösand of the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden. Hornæus was zealous in his work — by the time his task was complete, 71 people, 65 women, roughly one fifth of all women in the region, and six men, had been beheaded and burned.
in Dalarna
in 1668; the priests were ordered to inform their congregations of the crimes committed during their sermons, and thus, the rumour of the witches spread over the country, where witch-hunts had earlier been a rarity. Hornæus was ordered to perform an investigation by order of the special commission which had been created to deal with the suddenly erupted witch craze.
The priest had two boys stand at the door of the church to identify the witches by an invisible mark on their forehead as they went in. On one occasion, one of these boys pointed at the wife of the priest himself, Britta Rufina; people gasped but she (as she told her grandson who wrote down the story) then slapped the boy, and he quickly apologized when he saw who he had pointed at, and said he had been blinded by the sun. This could very well have been true, as he would not have dared to point at the wife of a priest if he had recognised her.
Hornæus was a priest with a terrifying reputation; the witnesses of the witch trial were mostly children, as the main accusations of the witches was that they had abducted children on the sabbath of Satan, and Hornaeus had several methods to get them to give the testimony he wanted. He whipped them, he bathed children in the ice cold water of a hole in the ice in the lakes in winter, he put them in an oven, showed them fuel and pretended that he would light the fire in the oven and boil them. His grandson, Jöns Hornæus, who wrote down the story in 1735 after it was dictated by his grandmother, Laurentius Hornæus' wife Britta Rufina, was quoted as saying: "I remember some of these witnesses, who by these methods were in lack of health for the rest of their lives". He adds that children were still, sixty years afterwards, afraid to go near the house were his grandfather lived.
On 15 October 1674, the witch trial of Torsåker opened. About one hundred people, of both sexes, were accused by the children. Even though this was the biggest witch trial in the country, the original documents of the trial are very small and of bad quality; the documents of 1674 simply state that the trial was very like the other trials and was very typical in every way, except for the large number of victims. This would mean that the prisoners were accused of abducting children to the sabbath of Satan in Blockula
.
The best source for the trial is instead an account written by the grandson of the priest, Jöns Hornæus, who wrote down the story in 1735, sixty years afterwards, dictated by his grandmother, the priest's wife, Britta Rufina, who was an eyewitness to the trial and almost herself accused.
About one hundred people were accused, but it is unclear how many were convicted and not executed. Jöns Hornæus claims many of those convicted escaped, and that some of the women were not executed because of pregnancy. The prisoners were kept in several different places in the village. They were not guarded, and free to "stretch their legs" from time to time. They were given almost no food but were allowed to receive food from their relatives.
in the church of Torsåker, the prisoners, 71 people, 65 women and six men, were led to the place of execution. Jöns Hornæus describes the execution in his book, where he wrote down the exact words of his grandmother, the eyewitness Britta Rufina, and she describes it like this, after a speech in the church:
On the mountain, the prisoners were decapitated away from the stake
s, so as not to drown the wood in blood and make it hard to light, and when they were dead, their families took off their clothes and lifted their bodies on the stakes, which were lit and burned until they went out by themselves. The families of the executed then went home, according to Britta Rufina, without showing any emotions, as if they were completely numbed.
The witch-hunt in the country continued; after the Torsåker witch trial, it reached the capital, were it lasted until 1676 and ended with the execution of Malin Matsdotter
in Stockholm
, after which the authorities proved that the child witnesses were lying and it had been a mistake. In 1677, all the priests in the country were ordered to tell their congregations in the churches that the witches had now been expelled from the country forever to avoid further witch trials. In Torsåker, the boys who had pointed at the women at the church, the so called "visgossarna" (the tale boys), were found with their throats cut.
Torsåker parish
Torsåker parish is in the Diocese of Härnösand. It is where the Torsåker witch trials took place in 1675.-History:The Torsåker witch trials began when Laurentius Christophori Hornæus of Ytterlännäs parish, was told by Johannes Wattrangius, of Torsåker parish, to investigate witchcraft in his...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. 71 people: 6 men and 65 women were beheaded and then burned, all in a single day. This was the largest witch trial
Witch trial
A witch trial is a legal proceeding that is part of a witch-hunt. * Witch trials in Early Modern Europe, 15th–18th centuries** Salzburg witch trials - 1675-1690, Salzburg, Austria** Spa witch trial - 1616, Belgium...
in Swedish history.
Laurentius Hornaeus
This began when Laurentius Christophori HornæusLaurentius Christophori Hornæus
Laurentius Christophori Hornaeus , also known as Lars Christophri Hornæus, was a minister and witch-hunter in Torsåker and Ytterlännäs, Sweden.-Birth and education:He was born as Lars Christoffersson in Härnösand in 1645...
of Ytterlännäs
Ytterlännäs
Ytterlännäs is a parish in the Diocese of Härnösand in Västernorrland County, Sweden.-History:Ytterlännäs parish, in the province of Ångermanland, belonged to the Archdiocese of Uppsala in the Middle Ages, but has been part of the Diocese of Härnösand since its formation in 1647...
parish, was told by Johannes Wattrangius, of Torsåker parish
Torsåker parish
Torsåker parish is in the Diocese of Härnösand. It is where the Torsåker witch trials took place in 1675.-History:The Torsåker witch trials began when Laurentius Christophori Hornæus of Ytterlännäs parish, was told by Johannes Wattrangius, of Torsåker parish, to investigate witchcraft in his...
, to investigate witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
in his parish. Ytterlännäs and Torsåker were both in the Diocese of Härnösand of the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden. Hornæus was zealous in his work — by the time his task was complete, 71 people, 65 women, roughly one fifth of all women in the region, and six men, had been beheaded and burned.
Trial
The witch trial reached Torsåker as an epidemic, as the witch trials suddenly had begun to flourish over Sweden after the first trial against Märet JonsdotterMäret Jonsdotter
Märet Jonsdotter was an alleged Swedish witch. She is one of the most known victims of the persecutions of sorcery in her country; she was the first person accused of this in the great witch hysteria called "Det Stora Oväsendet" of 1668–1676, and her trial unleashed the beginning of the real...
in Dalarna
Dalarna
', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....
in 1668; the priests were ordered to inform their congregations of the crimes committed during their sermons, and thus, the rumour of the witches spread over the country, where witch-hunts had earlier been a rarity. Hornæus was ordered to perform an investigation by order of the special commission which had been created to deal with the suddenly erupted witch craze.
The priest had two boys stand at the door of the church to identify the witches by an invisible mark on their forehead as they went in. On one occasion, one of these boys pointed at the wife of the priest himself, Britta Rufina; people gasped but she (as she told her grandson who wrote down the story) then slapped the boy, and he quickly apologized when he saw who he had pointed at, and said he had been blinded by the sun. This could very well have been true, as he would not have dared to point at the wife of a priest if he had recognised her.
Hornæus was a priest with a terrifying reputation; the witnesses of the witch trial were mostly children, as the main accusations of the witches was that they had abducted children on the sabbath of Satan, and Hornaeus had several methods to get them to give the testimony he wanted. He whipped them, he bathed children in the ice cold water of a hole in the ice in the lakes in winter, he put them in an oven, showed them fuel and pretended that he would light the fire in the oven and boil them. His grandson, Jöns Hornæus, who wrote down the story in 1735 after it was dictated by his grandmother, Laurentius Hornæus' wife Britta Rufina, was quoted as saying: "I remember some of these witnesses, who by these methods were in lack of health for the rest of their lives". He adds that children were still, sixty years afterwards, afraid to go near the house were his grandfather lived.
On 15 October 1674, the witch trial of Torsåker opened. About one hundred people, of both sexes, were accused by the children. Even though this was the biggest witch trial in the country, the original documents of the trial are very small and of bad quality; the documents of 1674 simply state that the trial was very like the other trials and was very typical in every way, except for the large number of victims. This would mean that the prisoners were accused of abducting children to the sabbath of Satan in Blockula
Blockula
Blockula was a legendary meadow where the Devil held his Earthly court during a witches' Sabbat. This meadow could only be reached by a magical flight. It was described as "a delicate large Meadow, whereof you can see no end".There was said to be a large gate located in the meadow that led to a...
.
The best source for the trial is instead an account written by the grandson of the priest, Jöns Hornæus, who wrote down the story in 1735, sixty years afterwards, dictated by his grandmother, the priest's wife, Britta Rufina, who was an eyewitness to the trial and almost herself accused.
About one hundred people were accused, but it is unclear how many were convicted and not executed. Jöns Hornæus claims many of those convicted escaped, and that some of the women were not executed because of pregnancy. The prisoners were kept in several different places in the village. They were not guarded, and free to "stretch their legs" from time to time. They were given almost no food but were allowed to receive food from their relatives.
Execution
After the last sermonSermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
in the church of Torsåker, the prisoners, 71 people, 65 women and six men, were led to the place of execution. Jöns Hornæus describes the execution in his book, where he wrote down the exact words of his grandmother, the eyewitness Britta Rufina, and she describes it like this, after a speech in the church:
Then they begun to understand what would happen. Cries to heaven rose of vengeance over those who caused their innocent deaths, but no cries and no tears would help. Parents, men and brothers held a fence of pikes. (By which she meant that the men of the village, the family members of the prisoners, surrounded the prisoners with weapons) They were driven, seventy one of them, of which only two could sing a psalm, which they repeated when they walked as soon as it ended. Many fainted on the way out of weakness and death wish, and those were carried by their families up until the place of execution, which was in the middle in the parish, half a mile from all the three churches, and called "The Mountain of the Stake."
On the mountain, the prisoners were decapitated away from the stake
Stake
Stake may refer to:* @stake, a computer services company* Equity stake, a share or interest in a business or investment* "Stake", a tent peg* Stake -Military:* Sudis , a fortification carried by Roman legionaries...
s, so as not to drown the wood in blood and make it hard to light, and when they were dead, their families took off their clothes and lifted their bodies on the stakes, which were lit and burned until they went out by themselves. The families of the executed then went home, according to Britta Rufina, without showing any emotions, as if they were completely numbed.
Aftermath
The Torsåker executions had, even at the time they occurred, dubious legitimacy. Neither the commission or any local courts had the rights to conduct any executions. They were expected to report their sentences to the higher court, which was to confirm them before the sentences could be carried out. The high court normally only confirmed a minority of the death sentences. In the case of Torsåker, the local court commission did not report the sentences to the high court, but executed the prisoners directly without confirmation of the sentences from their superiors, and the execution was therefore not lawful. The commission was also called from Torsåker to the capital to answer for their actions. They were defended by the local authorities in Torsåker, but there were to be no more executions in Torsåker.The witch-hunt in the country continued; after the Torsåker witch trial, it reached the capital, were it lasted until 1676 and ended with the execution of Malin Matsdotter
Malin Matsdotter
Malin Matsdotter , also known as Rumpare-Malin, was an alleged Swedish witch. She is one of the most well known alleged witches in Swedish history: known as one of few people in Sweden to be executed by burning at the stake, and often referred to as the only Swedish "witch" to have been executed by...
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, after which the authorities proved that the child witnesses were lying and it had been a mistake. In 1677, all the priests in the country were ordered to tell their congregations in the churches that the witches had now been expelled from the country forever to avoid further witch trials. In Torsåker, the boys who had pointed at the women at the church, the so called "visgossarna" (the tale boys), were found with their throats cut.
Memorial Stone
In 1975, a memorial stone was erected in Torsåker in honor of the victims of Torsåker witch trialsTorsåker witch trials
The Torsåker witch trials took place in 1675 in Torsåker parish, Sweden. 71 people: 6 men and 65 women were beheaded and then burned, all in a single day...