The Trial of Tempel Anneke: Records of a Witchcraft Trial in Brunswick, Germany, 1663

by Peter A. Morton (Editor)

The accused was Anna Roleffes, known as Tempel Anneke. She was arrested on the charge of witchcraft in June of 1663. She was found guilty and was executed on December 30th that same year. Her trial was long and involved, with many witnesses from several towns and villages.

Consisting of direct translations of the trial testimony, The Trial of Tempel Anneke portrays a large and varied cast of characters including trades people, farmers, local nobility, village drunkards, and Tempel Anneke herself. Tempel Anneke was in several ways typical of those accused of witchcraft, yet from the testimony she emerges as a complex and controversial figure. She was literate and owned a few books and herbals; she prided herself on her medical and pharmaceutical knowledge and until the final stages of the trial when her confession was extracted under torture, she was sharp, assertive, and even witty in her responses to questioning. This English translation offers direct archival insight into the workings of 17th century law, contemporary understandings of justice, perceptions of natural and magical causes, and above all, the social history of the period.

While other witchcraft materials exist, this is the only text available in English that allows students to follow a witchcraft trial from beginning to end. Highly readable, this astonishing narrative is perfectly suited to being read as a complete document. The useful additions of introduction, appendices, glossary, and index provide readers with important background information so that they can engage directly with the material.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, School, Read For School, Germany, Witches, Witchcraft

219 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

Reviews

[aya]

so uh fun little update my essays due tomorrow and i have nothing written so uhh live laugh love i guess

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty rare thing, scads of original archival documentation detailing the process of interrogating, torturing, and finally murdering a supposed witch.
Anna Roffeles was a 6oish old woman living in a little village called Harxbüttel in northern Germany accused of recovering some stolen goods using magic and various other minor evils (including some weird dick healing), arrested, inquisitioned and executed in the mid-17th century.
The archival material is headed by some discussions of law and legal precedents, Harxbüttel's history, the effects of the Thirty Years' War, the evolution of the idea of diabolism and sorcery, and witch persecution throughout the region. If you're interested in the often unpleasant nitty-gritty of the subject and want to see firsthand how torturing an old woman can uncover all sorts of Satanic evil-doings, look no further!
Also, the first time I've ever used the phrase "dick healing" in a review, I think.

[Mia Huynh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Trial of Tempel Anneke was a well put-together archival text of a witch trial in the seventeenth century. Although I can understand why some may feel as if there was not a lot of the editor's touch or input on the records, the introduction for each piece ("folio") from the period aided in explaining how the documents fit together to lead to the final verdict. (Keep in mind that this is more of a collection of primary sources rather than a narrative retelling of the trial)

Reading with the mindset of trying to understand the decision of the judges and the jury at the time added insight as to why the case included torture and the numerous witness accounts. While ultimately I do not agree with the punishment, from the various pieces of testimonies as well as the confession of Tempel Anneke, being able to understand the cultural context as well as criminal law of the seventeenth century was what I able to realize most from this text (versus the actual case itself).

[Annabelle Hurst]

wow (for my history class - hopefully this essay is an improvement from another lol) the drama in this is insane. First of all I feel like I would be so curious to know what actually happened in all these situations but the judges obviously just wanted to hear about her pact with the devil. Like I'm sorry what is she supposed to say no she did not curse those people but u keep asking and saying shes lying .... also cannot believe Hennig was so rude to her only to be like lowkey bad at everything himself hello. Also like I'm sorry ur son had worms??? come on now...also like he saw her put the pear down, if he was so scared he should've, I dont know, thought about it for a second .... also like she lowkey helped you guys multiple times with ur sheep dying .... stop blaming all of ur issues on her

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a diverse collection of primary sources of a 17th century witch trial in Germany, but awkward editing and a lack of contextual analysis leaves much to be desired. The authors explicitly state they intended this to be a collection of primary sources, with the introduction and footnotes as a means of context, but the footnotes are mostly further translations of early modern language to today’s equivalent or clarifying what pronoun relates to whom. Surely they felt passionate enough about the trial to translate it to English—a mere 20 page epilogue could have sufficed to bring a little more clarity and expert theory to such a nuanced topic and set of court proceedings.

[Jessie Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

An indispensable historical resource now in English, and arranged for ease of understanding. The trial of Tempel Anneke is a snapshot of legal history, a remnant of complex sociocultural currents, and above all, the records of a tragedy. It is impressive that the course of a witchcraft investigation still survives in such thorough records, and the editors and translators did an accessional job arranging and presenting those records.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

One wonders after reading this whether the courts ever declared anyone innocent under this system, or if they always kept questioning the suspect until they said what was expected of them. Without means of scientific proof and in a highly superstitious society the outlook for accused witches was bleak - this book demonstrates, with minimal commentary, letting the documents do the talking, just how bleak.

[Jillian Tully · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a lot to take in at once, but I also read this rather quickly. There is a lot of information about the trial and all key elements, but even several other variables of the culture at the time. I gave it 3 stars since it is a good collection of documents but also more so listed in a way that is throwing information at you than having a lead into each segment.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The witch trials often feel like a part of Halloween lore instead of real history, but this study into a real example of these abuses of political, social, and religious power against women brought a new sense of the reality to the concept

[Jonah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story. Poor editing tbh. Good introduction, could have used more robust introductions to each document. Was often confused.

[Erika]

Interesting case with appropriate background. We'll see how well this works with students.

[Alyssa Hanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of primary source documents with very little contribution by the editor. I would have appreciated (and understood) this better had he added more context.

[Gillian]

Really did not want to read the last 20 pages of this but I did it just so I could put it on here 😋

[maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably one of the coolest books I’ve ever read. So good.

[Joshua Lister · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, a surprising aspect of these court records is that they reveal the prosecution of Temple Anneke was not carried out by a mob of superstitious, backward peasants but rather countless "experts". The proceedings were methodical and the civil magistrate acted scientifically in questioning. Permission to proceed with torture had to be granted by Germany's top university.
Another surprising element, that further complicates matters, is that Temple Anneke apparently also believed that she was a witch. There is not a simple reading of the witch phenomenon in early modern Europe.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my Ordinary People class. Completely changed my perspective on witch trials. At least in 1663 Brunswick, Germany, they were so legalistic and procedural, really a "craze" which was the product of the elites (doctors, politicians, law faculty) more than of a peasant mob. Though the editors' touch is deliberately light, the bracket introductions to each document are key in showing how they fit together, and the footnotes are helpful as well.

[Terri Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is used in a Literary and Cultural History of Witchcraft course and is the actual primary documents from the trial of a woman in Germany in the 1600's. As court documents, you can imagine how thrilling it is to wade through them and frankly I can't believe grown men and women believed in such nonsense and tortured innocent people and killed them because they thought someone wished their cows ill and they died.

[Tiffany McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for a college class. I am very 'meh' when it comes to this book; it wasn't really bad, but it wasn't really great, either. I am not exactly sure why I didn't like it a lot, considering I love history to begin with. Maybe because the ending was kind of expected? I don't know.

But I do like how they listed everything and organized it. It made reading and understanding what was happening a lot easier.

[Mary Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was particularly affecting, reading the protestations of Tempel Anneke in the face of the inquisitors as she insisted that she had nothing to do with the devil and nothing to do with witchcraft. It is an exceptionally complete record, which allows the incident to feel alive in a way that the trials sometimes do not.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for a class. Was very interesting discussing what the information about this trial told us about witchcraft trials in the early modern period. If you like analyzing primary sources directly this is a great book.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good material covering an entire witchcraft trial, but lacked analysis. Carlo Ginzburg set the bar on historical writing about witchcraft trials quite high.

[Sara J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see what a witch trial comprised of.