A Wee Bit of History!

Let’s dive into a bit of witchcraft history today, I was sketching in the remains of Kloster Unterzell, a nunnery dating back to the beginning of the 13th C, although it was dissolved in the Reformation, the nunnery was rebuilt in the early 1600's, cloisters with an orchard, herbarium and church, the window of which you can see on the right. 

It was here that Maria Renata Sänger, Freifrau von Mossau became a nun at the age of 20. Maria was the daughter of impoverished aristocracy and didn’t want to become a nun, but needs must, she also had a bit of an iffy past (love affairs and meetings with a known ''witch'', who accidentally poisoned herself), this was a less than perfect start to her religious career but Maria Renata made good, eventually becoming sub prioress. Starting in the early 1740's things suddenly turned bad, envy, spite and a spate of nuns becoming possessed lead to Maria being accused of witchcraft. Whether voluntarily or under duress she eventually confessed to being a witch, communing with the devil and named at least 2 others. Maria Renata's fate was sealed. At 70 years of age she was put on trial, admitted her guilt and was found guilty. 

The witch hunts in Germany had really tailed off by this time, it was the Age of Enlightenment and the powers that be weren't really too enthusiastic about getting the ball rolling again but Maria had confessed, been to trial and so an execution had to follow, she was beheaded in the Marienberg fortress, one of the last witches executed in Germany. 

Behind these gates are the remains of the convent garden, interestingly on the day that Maria was executed the six young nuns who had been ''possessed'' and accused Maria were seen singing and dancing in this very garden ……! Judge as you may.

I always love the feeling of walking through history but this place though now peaceful (and a Protestant church), really saddened me. Often, as in the case of Maria Renata Sänger it was women who accused their own and very often out of the basest motives; jealousy, envy, spite, Maria was one of the seldom cases of religious people being executed for witchcraft, it must have been heartbreaking for her to recognise her betrayal was caused by her sisters in faith …….. that is of course if she was innocent but that we will never know.