Witch craze Terror and fantasy in baroque Germany

A decade after hurling her first major bombshell into the field of European witch-hunting (Oedipus and the Devil, 1994), Roper (Oxford) now throws another. As in the earlier work, her perspective is heavily psychoanalytical, although as a historian she remains unwedded to any model. Here she explores the terrors surrounding early modern witchcraft by discovering their roots in basic fears about human and natural fertility. In an age desperately concerned about fruitfulness, the figure of the witch evoked murderous hatred because she was an agent of barrenness, coldness, and death. A woman's social status was closely tied to her fertility; hence, the barren old woman became a lightning rod for deep fears that were articulated and reinforced through interrogation and torture. The study is based largely on materials from four south German localities: Wurzburg, Nordlingen, Augsburg, and Marchtal. Roper also makes broader forays into the art and literature of baroque Germany, stressing the mutual influences of learned theory and popular belief. The final chapters offer fascinating perspectives on the 18th-century decline of witch-hunting. Roper's speculations are sophisticated, often pregnant; her overall interpretation has a persuasive resonance. The volume includes scores of illustrations and an extensive scholarly apparatus. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. R. B. Barnes Davidson College