Mary Schweidler, the amber witch: The most interesting trial for witchcraft ever known, printed from an imperfect manuscript by her father, Abraham Schweidler, the pastor of Coserow in the island of Usedom / edited by W. Meinhold ; translated from the German by Lady Duff Gordon.Meinhold, Wilhelm
General
Mary Schweidler, the amber witch: The most interesting trial for witchcraft ever known, printed from an imperfect manuscript by her father, Abraham Schweidler, the pastor of Coserow in the island of Usedom / edited by W. Meinhold ; translated from the German by Lady Duff Gordon.
Meinhold, Wilhelm
Witchcraft -- Pomerania (Poland and Germany)
When she had with many sighs said "Yes" to all these questions, he rose,
took a wand in one hand and a second paper in the other, put his
spectacles on his nose, and said, "Now, then, hear thy sentence." (This
sentence I since copied: he would not let me see the other _Acta_, but
pretended that they were at Wolgast. The sentence, however, was word for
word as follows.)
"We, the Sheriff and the Justices appointed to serve the high and
worshipful criminal court. Inasmuch as Mary Schweidler, the daughter of
Abraham Schweidlerus, the pastor of Coserow, hath, after the appointed
inquisition, repeatedly made free confession that she hath a devil named
_Disidaemonia_, the which did re-baptize her in the sea, and did also know
her carnally; _item_, that she by his help did mischief to the cattle;
that he also appeared to her on the Streckelberg in the likeness of a
hairy giant. We do therefore by these presents make known and direct that
_Rea_ be first duly torn four times on each breast with red-hot iron
pincers, and after that be burned to death by fire, as a rightful
punishment to herself and a warning to others. Nevertheless we, in pity
for her youth, are pleased of our mercy to spare her the tearing with
red-hot pincers, so that she shall only suffer death by the simple
punishment of fire. Wherefore she is hereby condemned and judged
accordingly on the part of the criminal court.
"_Publicatum_ at the castle of Pudgla, the 30th day _mensis Augusti, anno
Salutis_ 1630."
As he spake the last word he brake his wand in two and threw the pieces
before the feet of my innocent lamb, saying to the constable, "Now, do
your duty!" But so many folks, both men and women, threw themselves on the
ground to seize the pieces of the wand (seeing they are said to be good
for the gout in the joints, _item_, for cattle when troubled with lice),
that the constable fell to the earth over a woman who was on her knees
before him, and his approaching death was thus foreshadowed to him by the
righteous God. Something of the same sort likewise befell the Sheriff now
for the second time; for when the worshipful court rose, throwing down
tables, stools, and benches, a table, under which two boys were fighting
for the pieces of the wand, fell right upon his foot, whereupon he flew
into a violent rage, and threatened the people with his fist, saying that
they should have fifty right good lashes a-piece, both men and women, if
they were not quiet forthwith, and did not depart peaceably out of the
room. This frighted them, and after the people were gone out into the
street, the constable took a rope out of his pocket, wherewith he bound my
lamb her hands so tightly behind her back that she cried aloud; but when
she saw how this wrung my heart, she straightway constrained herself and
said, "Oh, father, remember that it fared no better with the blessed
Saviour!" Howbeit, when my dear gossip, who stood behind her, saw that her
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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