andrewcriddle

The Cologne witchhunt was very nasty with at least 2,000 total deaths.

I haven't been able to confirm that midwives were a particular target.

I'll look into it further.

Andrew Criddle

andrewcriddle

I still haven't been able to confirm it (or firmly refute it) but the claim that 1/3 of executed women were midwives seems unlikely, given that one of the most terrifying things about the German witch-panics was their indiscriminate and unpredictable choice of victims.

Just possibly a claim that 1/3 of executed women were healers, nurses etc in a very broad sense, has been misunderstood as a claim that 1/3 were midwives. (This would still be a surprisingly high fraction but much more plausible.)

Andrew Criddle

Huon

The date around 1630 has reminded me of a witchcraft affair which happened in France in 1634. Here is a link (the english text is richer than the french one) :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbain_Grandier

IMHO, it shows that possession by Satan and devils was considered a "normal" phenomenon at that time, not only in Cologne but probably in Western Europe.

Note that Grandier was not guilty, but a political victim of Cardinal Richelieu, both of them Catholic priests.

Midwives have always been suspected of abortions, and found very often responsible for the death of newborns, or the death of the mother. Most of the time, it was unjust.

Clivedurdle

From summary of URH

The other classic saying is by Martin Luther and a lake somewhere in Switzerland where the wind stirring up the water was said to be demons.

The first quote argues that abortion is not a problem for Christians - has anyone told the catholics and anti abortionists this?

The second is a terrifying example of using logic from unsound principles. Is it arguable that a soul does not exist until infant baptism?

We assume we understand christianity because we are familiar with this christian religion. Is this a major error? Is it really very alien and feels familiar because we have heard so many apologists? And in fact what people state is christian now has no real relationship to how people thought in the past?