In 1631, at the epicenter of the worst excesses of the European
witch-hunts, Friedrich Spee, a Jesuit priest, published the Cautio
Criminalis, a book speaking out against the trials that were
sending thousands of innocent people to gruesome deaths. Spee, who
had himself ministered to women accused of witchcraft in Germany,
had witnessed firsthand the twisted logic and brutal torture used
by judges and inquisitors. Combined, these harsh prosecutorial
measures led inevitably not only to a confession but to
denunciations of supposed accomplices, spreading the circle of
torture and execution ever wider.
Driven by his priestly charge of enacting Christian charity, or
love, Spee sought to expose the flawed arguments and methods used
by the witch-hunters. His logic is relentless as he reveals the
contradictions inherent in their arguments, showing there is no way
for an innocent person to prove her innocence. And, he questions,
if the condemned witches truly are guilty, how could the testimony
of these servants and allies of Satan be reliable? Spee's
insistence that suspects, no matter how heinous the crimes of which
they are accused, possess certain inalienable rights is a timeless
reminder for the present day.
The Cautio Criminalis is one of the most important and moving
works in the history of witch trials and a revealing documentation
of one man's unexpected humanity in a brutal age. Marcus Hellyer's
accessible translation from the Latin makes it available to
English-speaking audiences for the first time.
Studies in Early Modern German History
General
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