The Devil in Me: Witchcraft and Possession from 1550 to 1650 in France and Germany

Witchcraft has changed and evolved greatly since the creation of Satan after the second century C.E. This figure came to be associated with witches, but the nature of this relationship was subject to debate. Many learned men wrote demonological treatises to debate the nature of witchcraft. The true witch mania was from the 1500s to the 1600s at the height of the witch-hunts across Europe. During this time, there was a frenzy of concerned citizens hunting for, torturing, and half the time executing accused witches. What these hunts looked like and how they concluded varied from area to area. By examining cases of possession in France and Germany, we can begin to understand how and why beliefs about witches, witchcraft and their relationship to Satan changed between geographical areas. 

Primary sources about demonic possession from 1550 to 1630 in both France and Germany account very similar experiences of those possessed. Johann Weyer recounts a possession at Wertet that involved a group of nuns in 1550. There are claims that the nuns saw apparitions, levitated, were injured by unseen hands, had their bodies contorted and vomited a black substance no matter what they ate. Henri Boguet tells of Loyse Maillat, a young girl who was possessed by five devils in France in 1598. She is said to have moved around on all fours and her mouth twisted “in a very strange manner.” Right before her exorcism she was foaming at the mouth. In another case in France, des Niau tells of a possession of a group of seventeen Ursuline nuns at Loudun in 1634. They claimed to have seen an apparition of a man named Grandier who tried to tempt them into “indecent actions,” as well as be struck by an invisible force. This document defines possession as displaying one of four characteristics; understanding and speaking a previously unknown language, knowing future events or events happening far away, possessing extreme strength, and levitating. All four were prevalent between the seventeen nuns. All three cases were believed to be caused by true demonic possession. 

In all cases, a witch was blamed and put on trial. Despite the region, the Christian faith allowed the belief that the Devil was responsible. The debate comes over the nature of his involvement. There were two sides; that the Devil gave witches the power to have others possessed and that the Devil himself possessed people without witch involvement. This centred around the question of whether witches actually had any power. Witches were said to have made a pact with the Devil and through this they were able to perform maleficia, harmful magic.. Some, such as Weyer, argued that this pact was not real and all an illusion of the Devil. Others, such as Boguet, argued that the witches had powers given to them by Satan. This debate can be best examined by looking at possession. Weyer was criticized because he believed that witchcraft was illusory, but Satan did have powers. He used these powers to deceive the witches and could possess people on his own. He claims that Satan is only allowed his power as God wills it. Satan was allowed to possess the nuns at Wertet to test their faith, which was justified because the nuns believed they were possessed through witches and not through God himself. Boguet’s argument is the opposite of Weyer, but comes to the same conclusion. He asserts that it is possible for witches to will demons into the body of another, but only as God wills it. The demons enter the body through food given to the victim by witches, such as the bread given to Loyse. He claims since the demons confess themselves during exorcism, it must be true. Des Niau’s account follows the same vein as Boguet’s, although less explicit. There is no discussion but rather an assertion throughout that Grandier made a pact with the Devil to cause harm to others. 

The difference in opinion comes down largely to region. France was largely Roman Catholic at the time. To believe in God was to believe in Satan. In the garden of Eden, Eve is offered an apple by a serpent off the forbidden fruit tree. This temptation is why God casts Eve and Adam out of the garden and leads the way to human suffering. Over time, the serpent came to be associated with the Devil and he was blamed for the fall of humanity. In this understanding came the idea that the Devil would make pacts with humans to create chaos and dissent in society. By having demons possess people and the Church exorcism them out, they asserted the power of the Church and the power of God.  Jonathan Pearl argues that the French pushed for belief in possession and the Church’s ability to exorcise as a means of propaganda. This was the time of rising Protestant sentiment and the Catholics felt threatened by this. They wanted to prove they are God’s chosen and true religion. There is an account of a possession where the possession demon is transcribed as calling himself the “Prince of the Protestants.” The force and pressure of this propaganda campaign led to some Protestants converting back to Catholicism. The Protestant reformations created great upheaval throughout Europe. This idea that Catholics were pushing for Protestants to not be viewed as Christian and push them out could be from a desire of dominance or  perhaps a desire for peace. 

Germany had a very different view of witchcraft and witches. According to Alison Rowlands, there were three themes of the Rothenburg council. These were maleficia, a witch’s pact with the devil, and flying to attend a Sabbat. They viewed magic as wholly bad, maleficia as worse, and maleficia through a pact with the Devil as the absolute worst sin. As such, if a witch denied any involvement with Satan, they were given easier sentences. These beliefs went against common demonological thoughts and treatises which asserted that witches only had power through Satan. By witches being able to assert their power but deny involvement with Satan allowed humans to portray themselves as magic users. The councillors often tried to mitigate charges as to not spark a witch hunt, an event of frenzy and chaos.  This might explain why they were reluctant to try witches to the highest degree without solid evidence. They also worked to protect child witches. They argued children do not have the will and reason to know what they were committing to. Witches could only be charged with capital punishment if they knowingly and willingly agreed to a pact with the devil. 

This reluctance to try witches without proper criteria and the general respect for legal code led to interesting situations such as that of Elizabeth Lorentz. She was a young girl on trial for witchcraft in 1667 in Brunswick, Germany. She confessed to witchcraft, copulating with the Devil, and being arrested on charges of witchcraft previously. She was not charged with committing maleficia, even though she says the Devil willed her to kill others, but was charged with making a pact with the Devil. She claimed she did not explicitly make a pact, but she did give Satan some of her person in exchange for protection. This is all common demonological beliefs. Her trial varies in that she was not tortured into confessing as per many other trials and she was not accused of attending a Sabbat nor flying. She claims that while she had contact with the Devil, she did not perform maleficia and in fact resisted the Devil in this. Due to their inability to charge her fully with maleficia or knowingly making a pact with the Devil, she was released. 

Possession was a real and dangerous threat to 15th and 16th century Christians, whether they were Protestant or Catholic. Many of the beliefs about witches, witchcraft, and possession changed from location to location and depending on who was in charge. France was staunch in their belief in the Devil’s power to possess others and wreak havoc. The Council of Rothenburg controlled the witch trials that took place and ensured there was as little panic as possible and the witches on trial were given fair trials. Trials happened all over, and witches who were found guilty of harmful magic done with the power of Satan were given a death sentence by burning. Even though there were common demonological treatises, ideas still varied because of personal ideologies and desire to maintain social order. By examining Germany and France, the differing ideas of witchcraft and possession and their causes become apparent. 

Boguet, Henri. “The Possession of Loyse Maillat, 1598.” In The Witchcraft Sourcebook 2nd edition, edited by Brian P. Levack, 239-242. Taylor & Francis Group, 2003. Des Niau. “The Possessions at Loudun, 1634.” In The Witchcraft Sourcebook 2nd edition, edited by Brian P. Levack, 252-259. Taylor & Francis Group, 2003. Morton, Peter A. & Barbara Dähms. The bedevilment of Elizabeth Lorentz. University of Toronto Press, 2018. Pearl, Jonathan L. The crime of crimes: demonology and politics in France, 1560- 1620. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1999. Rowlands, Alison. Witchcraft narratives in Germany: Rothenburg, 1561-1652. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 2003. Weyer, Johann. “The Possession of the Nuns at Wertet, 1550.” In The Witchcraft Sourcebook 2nd edition, edited by Brian P. Levack, 235-238. Taylor & Francis Group, 2003.