Shared Photo: Snippet of 1611 German court record of convicted witch Elisabeth Schott

+5 votes
362 views

I want to share this excerpt with the community of the Court Record of the interrogation and witch conviction of Elisabeth Schott. Location: Ellwangen, Germany. Date: 18 Jun 1611.

It's probable that my bloodline is related to her husband Leonhardt Schott, as the widowed Elisabeth resided in nearby Eggenrot (east of Stuttgart), the same town where my 10th GGrandfather resided in the same period. 

I just received a translation summation of the 14 pages of interrogation, admissions, and sentence record -- translated by Dr. Ellen Yutze Giebe. 

A long-shot hope was to find citings of other Schott family members for proof of the connection. Alas, no such luck here. But the summation is fascinating -- sadly the conclusion is terrifying. More than 400 others were convicted over the next 7 years in this dark period known as the Ellwangen Witch Trials, for which much has been written.
500px-Unknown-517380.jpg
Click here for the image details page or here for the full-sized version (643 x 663).

WikiTree profile: Elisabeth Schott
in Photos by Robert Schott G2G6 (9.3k points)
edited by Robert Schott

You might want to add the Witch Trials sticker to her profile. I believe the syntax to use for her profile is {{Witch Trials Sticker|type=executed|Germany}}

1 Answer

+5 votes
 
Best answer

Brutality and mob psychology running amok.  A horrible time in history.  There are so many lessons to be learned from the way this was allowed to progress culminating in so many painful deaths....for no solid reason....

This is a translation of another witch trial.  It is noteworthy that it was based on an accusation and nothing more..

Many more women were killed as witches than men.  

https://dailyhistory.org/What_were_the_causes_of_the_Witch_Craze_in_Europe,_1550-1700%3F#:~:text=The%20climate%20change%20led%20to,greatly%20from%20war%20and%20famine.

http://courses.washington.edu/hsteu305/Midelfort%20Germany.pdf

Here is the translation: 

               Witch Trial of "Ottilia Ensminger"

Ottilia Ensminger was 65 years old, and born in Vollerdingen, domain of Saarwerden (near Sarre Union, Alsace).  She was accused of being a sorceress on August 2, 1673 at the law court of Diemeringen.  Six weeks earlier, she met Nicolas Kuhn, and said he is a thief, so she supposed that is why he proclaimed her to be a sorceress.  In all the questions, Ottilia refuted all the accusations that the jury read to her.  On August 4, 1673, the jury ordered  Ottilia to be tortured.  After 15 minutes, she said that she began with sorcery 18 or 20 years ago.  She said that she bewitched her husband, Carl Enzminger, because he was often drunk. In the same original act, was also written the judgment of Martin Miller, dated August 26, 1671. 

On October 16, 1673, Ottilia Ensminger, widowed, Elisabeth Hanel, Hans Koppel's wife named Walpurgis, Jenis Lovy's wife named Gertrude, Ulrich Kiefer's wife called Appolonia, Hemmer Anstet's wife called Margaretha - all these women were recognized as being a sorceress and their heads were cut off with a sword and the bodies were burned at the place called "Galgen".

by
selected by Stanley Baraboo
Laura, thank you for the additional witch themed history. Ellwangen trials included men, women, children, transients, community leaders, and more. These accusations become inescapable to the accused. Elisabeth was returned numerous times for interrogation during the three weeks preceding her death.

Related questions

+5 votes
2 answers
157 views asked Dec 20, 2023 in Genealogy Help by Linda Messina G2G1 (1.8k points)
+9 votes
2 answers
303 views asked Oct 8, 2019 in The Tree House by Sarah Callis G2G6 Pilot (122k points)
+5 votes
2 answers
+16 votes
2 answers
281 views asked May 29, 2022 in The Tree House by M Ross G2G6 Pilot (709k points)
+5 votes
1 answer
186 views asked Oct 31, 2021 in The Tree House by Roger Stong G2G Astronaut (1.3m points)
+36 votes
60 answers
+5 votes
1 answer
214 views asked Oct 24, 2021 in Genealogy Help by Living Kelts G2G6 Pilot (545k points)

WikiTree  ~  About  ~  Help Help  ~  Search Person Search  ~  Surname:

disclaimer - terms - copyright

...