2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Witch Persecution and Early Modern State-Building
| Project/Area Number |
15K16859
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
History of Europe and America
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| Research Institution | Niigata University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
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| Keywords | 魔女 / ポリツァイ / 請願 / 宗教改革 / 神罰 / 国家形成 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
This comparative study focuses on witch persecution in the catholic and protestant territories in early modern Germany. Using the catholic Mainz and the protestant electoral Palatinate as case studies, the mutual interdependencies between the rulers and the ruled are explored. In the bishopric of Mainz as a catholic territory the local officials had no other choice than to concede to the will of the villagers who were eager to punish suspected witches. In the protestant electoral Palatinate however, the ruler never had given up the central control over criminal justice. In consequence, no notable witch persecution occurred. In order to impose their desire for witch persecution upon the ruler, the subordinates used the argument that punishing witches was part of the ruler’s duties whose power was thought to be given by God to protect his people. This logic may even have benefited the ruler and contributed to legitimize their control over the communities which were once autonomous.
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| Free Research Field |
近世ドイツ史
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