A01=Alison Rowlands
accusations
alleged witches
Author_Alison Rowlands
Category=NHD
Category=NHDJ
Category=QRYX5
confessions
early modern Europe
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
execution
legal records
Rothenburg
witch-crazes
witch-trials
witchcraft
Product details
- ISBN 9781526195722
- Weight: 367g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 20 Jan 2026
- Publisher: Manchester University Press
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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Witchcraft narratives in Germany explains why witch-trials failed to gain momentum and escalate into 'witch-crazes' in certain parts of early modern Europe.
Centred on the German city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and its rural hinterland, the study draws on the city’s rich records to uncover the social and psychological tensions underlying witchcraft accusations and confessions. Remarkably, Rothenburg ob der Tauber saw just one execution for witchcraft between 1561 and 1652. This local pattern provides a vital counterpoint to prevailing historical narratives of widespread persecution, highlighting the ‘relative failure’ of witch-hunts in parts of Germany and questioning the assumption that mass trials were the early modern norm.
Alison Rowlands is Senior Lecturer in European History at the University of Essex
