The witch comes out of the shadows [PHOTOS]

Founded in the Viking Age, Ribe is surrounded by many legends: “in the past, it was thought that this was where witchcraft was taught”

Share October 30, 2020 7:04 pm Share The witch comes out of the shadows [PHOTOS] Camille Bas-Wohlert Agence France-Presse RIBE – A crackling pyre, muffled cries: in the bowels of the town of Ribe, in western Denmark , a strange museum dedicated to the witch hunt brings to life this neglected period of history in Europe.

Located in the home of an ex-inquisitor, at the bend of a picturesque street in this medieval town long considered the capital of witchcraft of the kingdom, it tells of the persecutions generally forgotten in history books and which belong to the collective imagination.

It depicts a very believing and superstitious Lutheran society, where magic, fear and mistrust were intertwined so as not to attract divine wrath.

In the ten exhibition rooms, brooms, amulets, dolls and other skulls alternate with torture instruments and animated reconstructions of the trials, to the rhythm of disturbing music: nothing better to immerse yourself in the shadow of Halloween in European witch hunts that took place mainly in the 17th century.

“The condemned was most often an elderly woman, single who lived on the margins of society, quite poorly”, adds the historian. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP

At that time in Europe, “100,000 [people] were prosecuted for witchcraft and 50,000 burned. Denmark has 1000 [condemned to death], which is quite high when you compare this figure to the number of inhabitants, ”one million at the time, explains to AFP one of the museum's officials, Louise Hauberg Lindgaard , specializing in the history of witchcraft.

A zealous king

According to the historian, the severity of the Scandinavian kingdom in this area is mainly due to the relentlessness of a king, Christian IV (1577-1648).

In 1617, we owe him the first law against witchcraft, which sent practitioners of black magic to the stake. In the eight years following its adoption, persecution rages and a sorcerer is burned every five days.

According to the historian, the severity of the Scandinavian kingdom in this area is mainly due to the relentlessness of a king, Christian IV (1577-1648). Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP

For the monarch, like many of his contemporaries, in particular his brother-in-law Jacques Stuart king of Scotland and then of England, another champion of the persecutions of witches, it is a question of ensuring his power, but also of showing himself good Christian and concerned about his subjects.

In the 16th century, the French philosopher Jean Bodin “had said that if a king did not persecute witches, he was exclusively responsible for all the horrors which befell these subjects so [the rulers] saw them as their responsibility” to rid their kingdom of magicians, recalls Ms. Hauberg Lindgaard.

At the time, anything could be a pretext for a denunciation, from the cookie-cutter threat to suspicious charm, and the accused were brought before a civil court.

Opened at the end of June, the museum attracted nearly 10,000 visitors from the first month, thanks to the mixed summer weather, but also to the popularity of the subject. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP

Opened at the end of June, the museum attracted nearly 10,000 visitors from the first month, thanks to the mixed summer weather, but also to the popularity of the subject.

“People love to see and watch anything related to witchcraft, novels, movies and TV series and also the more historical aspects like witch hunts […], we see very much in our visitors the desire to understand “what really happened” ”, assures the researcher.

So, she explains, they will learn that “predominantly in Denmark and the rest of Europe these were women, but contrary to what many people believe, up to one in four witches were Wizard.

At the time, anything could be a pretext for a denunciation, from the cookie-cutter threat to suspicious charm, and the accused were brought before a civil court. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP

“The condemned was most often an elderly woman, single who lived on the margins of society, quite poorly”, adds the historian.

For Mathilda, a 21-year-old Danish girl, it is an opportunity to discover an unknown story and its European ramifications.

“It's very exciting to hear about this, to learn that not only it happened in Denmark, but also in many other countries,” she notes.

In the ten exhibition rooms, brooms, amulets, dolls and other skulls alternate with instruments of torture and animated reconstructions of the trials, to the rhythm of disturbing music. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP

Between the walls of the museum, the little story joins the big one. The building was built at the end of the 16th century by a notable whose role was decisive in seven witch trials, three of which ended up at the stake.

Founded in the Viking Age, Ribe is surrounded by many legends: “In the past, it was thought that this was where witchcraft was taught. It is also the Danish city with the highest number of witch trials ”, explains Mrs. Hauberg Lindgaard.

In 1652, Anna Bruds was the last witch to be burned there.