User:Renerpho/sandbox/Wirwatz2

Note: Keep as reference for https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-624658

• First name: Unknown
• Last name at birth: Unknown
• Current last name: Wirwatz
• Other last names: Wirwetz, Wirwettz
• Birth year: 1445 (uncertain)
• Death year: 1517
• Death location: Marburg, Landgrafschaft Hessen, Heiliges Römisches Reich

• Spouse: Unknown Wirwatz (c.1435-aft.1510), marriage date and location unknown

{{Notables Sticker|Germany, Notables}} {{One Name Study|name=Wirwatz}}

Biography

Known simply as "the Wirwetzen" from the surviving sources, her first name is unknown. Her husband, a mercenary, is first documented in 1460; he passed away between 1510 and 1513.^[1]

In 1513, the widow was accused of sorcery, and was incarcerated in Marburg. She was released when three citizens of Marburg stood bail for her.^[2] She was accused of witchcraft again in 1517, and was burnt at the stake at the Rabenstein.^[3][4] At the time of her death, she probably was at least 60 years old.^[2] She is the first known victim of the witch hunt in Hesse.^[5]

A (largely fictional) account of her life and death is told in the audio drama 1517 - Zauber der Freiheit ("1517 - the magic of freedom"),^[6] which premiered on 28 February 2021.^[7]

In 2019, the city of Marburg honored the more than 1,300 victims of the witch hunt in Hesse with a series of exhibitions and events.^[3] A memorial for those who lost their lives was revealed near the Lutheran church in Marburg in 2021. It reads: "In Gedenken an die unschuldigen Menschen, die zwischen 1517 und 1695 in Marburg Opfer der Hexenverfolgung geworden sind. Sie erfuhren systematisches Unrecht. Ihr Leiden ist uns Lebenden Mahnung zu Toleranz und Menschlichkeit miteinander." (In memory of the innocent people who fell victim to the witch hunt in Marburg between 1517 and 1695. They suffered from systematic injustice. Their suffering will serve as a reminder to us to practice tolerance and benevolence.") One of the names on the memorial is die "Wirwettzen" ("the Wirwettzen").^[8]

Witch trial documents

A chartulary kept at the state archive in Marburg includes an account of her first trial: "On July 9, 1513, Heinz Teufel, Matthias Zimmermann and Heinz Knabe, citizens of Marburg, stood bail for, and testified in favor of, the Wirwatzen, that she would no longer practice sorcery, but would remain fair and honest, upon which she was released from prison." (Die Wirwatzenn zu Marrpurg - Hentz Teuffel, Theis Zymmerman, Hentz Knabe, Burger zu Marpurg, sint Burge wurden vnd haben gelobt, fure dy Wirwatzen das sie nicht mehr zoubern solle sunder sich fraulich vnd erlich halten, daruff ist sy us Gefenglich gelassen Am Donnerstag nach Vnser Lieben Frawen Tag Visitationis Anno XVdryzehen.^[9]

No documents about her second trial survive. Her death is documented by a short note in the treasury accounts, listing as an element of expenditure "two florin to Andreas Pfaff for two pieces of wood, used to burn the Wirwettzen" (2 guld geben Enders Pfaffen vor 2 arcken holtzs, als man die Wirwettzen brannte).^[10][2]

Research notes

Her trials took place before the first code of procedure for witch trials, the Carolina, was introduced in 1532. Her case was probably an oral hearing, and was ruled according to customary law. It is unlikely that any detailed documentation was kept of the proceedings.^[2] This was long before the peak of the witch hunt in the 17th century. Only two other cases of accused witchcraft in Hesse are known prior to the 1560s (one in 1538, the other in 1557), and the first proper trial did not take place until 1568.^[5]

It is unknown where she was incarcerated. The Hexenturm ("witch tower") near Marburg Castle was not used as a prison before the mid-1500s.^[11] She may have been kept at the prison in the town hall, erected in 1512.^[2]

Sources