A Dance with the Devil:

Divergences in the Nordic Witch-hunt

by Ryan Freligh

Magic and the control of the world through supernatural

means are common concepts throughout world history. By the Early

Middle Ages in Europe, pagan civilizations had developed various

ideologies regarding the way the world functioned through the

idea of magic as a substitute for that which they had yet no way

of explaining through science: weather phenomena, birth, death,

etc. In Nordic Europe, a wealth of mythology develops by means of

polytheistic religion, a mythology that fosters this magical view

of thinking, with examples of supernatural power and magical

creatures referenced in the earliest texts of the civilization.

From the 8th century forward, these beliefs and practices

received higher levels of criticism, due to the Christianization

of the region. Once Christianity moves to Scandinavia, the views

on magic, witchcraft in specificity, gradually being to change;

deities become saints, spells turn to prayer, and the norms of

the previous pagan culture becomes stigmatized, by the church’s

attempts to replace them with their ideologies. With this

conversion came not only a change in the view of magic but also

in the view of its practitioners: Witches, healers, etc.

Attitudes to these members of the community are seen in a

negative light by the Church throughout all of Europe, a view

that would only get worse later with the Protestant Reformation.

Through the following centuries, the commonalities between

the Nordic region and the rest of Europe regarding the view of

witchcraft grow in number however, the evolution of witchcraft in

the Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Finland, remains in

many ways divergent from the other regions. Prime examples of

this divergence are in the gender of the accused as well as the

Court’s response to witchcraft in trials and in law. My goals in

this investigation are twofold; the first is to summarize the

overall witchcraft climate in the Nordic region from the middle

ages until the Enlightenment and the second being to compare and

contrast the persecution process there with that of other Western

European areas with prominent witch-related activity, namely

France and German-Speaking Areas.

Starting with witchcraft in medieval society, Mitchell's

research in his book: Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages,

explains the importance of not only laws and official documents

when looking at views of witchcraft, but also literature, and

poetry. One specific example of this is the Sagas of Iceland,

which provide a wealth of information regarding charm magic and

enchantments. Despite these texts not being historically

accurate, Mitchell explains that they depict the way of life and

thinking at the time in regards to views on witchcraft, perhaps

more so than official court or church documents (Mitchell 20).

These types of texts describe magic in a much richer way in

comparison to official documents, in which the subject comes up

typically in terms of its illegality or the practitioner's

limitations as opposed to an atmosphere of belief.

Early Nordic laws can however provide insight into views of

magic and witchcraft thus making them essential sources when

investigating early negative views regarding the practice of

magic before Christian influences even entered the region.

According to early law, witchcraft, or fordæðuskapr, is defined

as “an active tradition of manipulating the universe through

charms and ritual.” Using laws such as the “Law of Gulaþing” from

9th century Norway as example: “One shall not believe in

Soothsaying, witchcraft, or maleficence.” The penalties for

supernatural practices such as “rousing trolls” or “seeking

soothsayers in Finnmark” were more severe than inflicting

physical harm to others through natural means such as neglecting

a child (Mitchell 21). At the time, these beings were not only

thought to have existed but were clearly seen as dangerous. It is

also interesting that they were believed to have live in a

specific area geographically; Finnmark, in the case of

soothsayers and it is indicated later that witches were thought

to also congregate at specific locations throughout the region.

Earlier research on witchcraft saw those who believed in

magic at this time in an “Elite Vs. Non Elite” model. However,

through evidence found in laws along with literature, it is more

likely that all levels of society believed in these supernatural

forces. This “Magical World View” would have been the most

plausible for explaining the unexplained and thus would be the

view used by both the nobility and by lower members of society

such as peasants or prostitutes (Mitchell, 19). This world view

falls into the “Old Witch Concept” which is explained in

Gullveig’s work: Heksetro Og Trolddom. This view of witchcraft would

last up until the Reformation and could be considered as a more

accepting or at least more neutral view. As magic in the Nordic

middles ages was not yet directly associated with the devil, even

the clergy themselves would go to healers or wise-men/women from

time to time (Gullveig, 20). Therefore, in the Medieval and Pre-

Reformation periods, witchcraft or magic laid in the grey area

between tolerance and intolerance.

In the 12th century, persecutions do occur however not as

frequently as in the centuries to follow. At this time,

accusations of sodomy and homosexuality were more frequent than

actual witchcraft however, once Europe traverses into the New

Witch Concept, accusations of having sex with the devil or demons

becomes a more popular accusation (Gullveig 22). Although

resistance to practicing witchcraft exists being before the

Reformation, it is after this time where the larger witch-crazes

in Europe, resulting in thousands of executions, would take

place. It is also in this period where the Nordic countries begin

to split in terms of how they deal with witchcraft. In Gullveig’s

terminology, this time marks the switch from the Old Witch

Concept to the new one.

The New Witch Concept, created by the church in the 14th

century, categorizes all witchcraft to have demonic involvement.

“Heksen fik sine supranormale evner gennem pagten med djævelen”

(Gullveig 20). This idea is spread initially through order of the

Catholic Church, considering all witches to be heretics, with the

main heretic being Satan himself. From this point forward, the

view of the witch as a troublesome hag transforms into a heretic

in league with the devil (Mitchell 206). This focus on the

abolishment of witchcraft was caused by the waning power of the

Catholic Church at the time. By accusing its enemies of heresy

and witchcraft, the Church could reclaim its influence in

continental Europe. Therefore, It is also in this period that the

notorious text, Malleus Maleficarum is published, with the Church’s

endorsement.

The Witches Hammer was indeed a contributing factor to the

witch-craze to come as well as most of Central and Western

Europe. Despite the text not actually presenting very much new

material, it solidified ideas on witchcraft and the dangers that

came therewith. The academic style of the text along with its

categorical organization of the types of witchcraft and

demonology (maleficium, veneficium, necromantia, etc) made its

influence even stronger. The text states that for witchcraft to

exist, both a witch and a pact with the devil are required which

would eliminate the grey-area regarding the practice of magic

that is found in previous centuries. Therefore the healers and

“white witches” of the middle ages are just as guilty as those

who commune with demons.

As the laws and attitudes concerning witchcraft changed from

the middle ages to the 14th/15th centuries, the depiction of the

witch changed as well. In terms of the middle ages, women are

seen early on as seers and sorceresses. They were the original

practitioners of divinatory arts and healing. This is especially

true before the conversion to Christianity in the Nordic

countries, at which point men became more associated with these

practices, fulfilling roles in the church and so forth (Mitchell

175). Moreover, Per-Anders Östling states in an article on the

Great Swedish Witch-Craze that “In Icelandic saga literature from

the 13th century, it was considered unmanly to perform

witchcraft” (Östling 84). Men were associated with hunting and

weapons while women were through to protect the home, prey, etc.

Therefore, they made better witches or at least were deemed more

appropriate to be seen as such.

Turning to Nordic mythology, the role of an evil woman is

frequently present; beings such as Valkyries and mara (female

succubus-like creatures) are frequently depicted as predators of

men, thus fulfilling the same “evil woman” role that the witch

will do later. A subcategory of this archetype is the

“troublesome old woman” (Mitchell 178) which reflects in the

stereotypical connotation of a witch as an old hag. It is

therefore not shocking that in most trials in both the Nordic

regions and in the rest of Europe, women over 50 years were most

frequently targeted and accused.

Older women, seen as undesirable and immune to the charms of

men, frequently lived alone and fell into an outcast role in

smaller communities. The idea of them making pacts with the devil

to attain various desires or power was not difficult for

neighbors to believe. When crops failed, children died, or ships

sank, it was common from these women to be blamed. The scapegoat

role is frequently played by witches as they could take the blame

for virtually any misfortune as anything could be done through

magic. Depictions of the devil are not uniform throughout Europe;

however he was typically known to come to women in the guise of a

man, wearing a hat with a feather in it. The colors of his

clothing are usually specified and in woodcuts, a hint is

normally revealed to his real identity as well; sometimes being a

clawed foot, other times being a tail. Women were not the only

victims of the devil's seduction, however.

A point that should be stressed is that not only women were

accused of witchcraft. In fact, The Nordic countries would end up

having one of the highest rates of men accused, resulting in a

distinguishing difference from the witch trials in other parts of

Europe. This makes the concept of the witch in Scandinavia appear

more gender-flexible as opposed to other parts of Europe where

women were more frequently targeted. Iceland is the prime example

of this; men were persecuted 90% of the time in the 17th century

(Ankarloo 151). This is an interesting contrast to the typical

view of the witch being a woman, especially when this depiction

is seen early on in Icelandic literature no less. One theory for

this role reversal is that men had more access to knowledge,

magical knowledge especially in the 17th century. Definitions of

witchcraft in Iceland may have also provoked this as well because

men were more commonly associated with maleficium, and necromancy

where women were seen more commonly as healers, a practice that

did not always warrant severe persecution.

Another example of this gender divergence is found in

Finland. Here we find once again the distinction between

benevolent and malevolent magic and different penalties for the

two. Once again, Men were typically accused of practicing

malevolent magic whereas women were typically fined for

benevolent. Therefore, it is possible that records would reveal

more men being accused of witchcraft where incidences with women

were not as thoroughly recorded as they were not seen as serious.

Parts of Scandinavia do not follow this increase of men accused

however; in 17th century Sweden, men only made up 28% of the

accused. More specifically, Sorin’s research on trials in Göta

Hovrätt shows that of the 800 individuals accused, 321 of them

were men on trial for having practiced some type of witchcraft

being it Maleficium, Devil-worshiping, etc (Sorin 108). This does

not necessary mean that the concept of the witch was more aimed

toward women but is likely due to there being fewer men to accuse

due to Sweden’s ongoing wars. This may also result in more

tension between women in rural areas due to stress, anxiety, and

hardship (Östling 100).

After the political and theological movements of the 15th

and 16th centuries, when the witch is seen more frequently in

league with the devil, the concept of the witch's sabbath is

strengthened in the folklore and becomes a principle element in

trials thereafter. Earlier depictions of witches show them in a

more solitary manner, or practicing their magic in secrecy

(Dubois 84). In Scandinavia, various sites were through to be the

location of the witch’s Sabbath: Blåkulla being one of the most

notorious, in northern Sweden. This name marks a real site in

current day Sweden known as Blå Jungfru, however it was earlier

named as Blåkulla which was the same name given to a location in

folklore known for the meeting of witches. This location becomes

an epicenter of lore related to witchcraft and the supernatural.

Various accounts of supernatural beings (faries, demons) were

thought to reside on the island as well as it being known as a

sabbath meeting place since the Middle Ages. It was however not

alluded to in the persecution of witches until centuries later

(Wall 206).

The sabbath, with origins coming from southern France, was

seen as a meeting place for witches and the Devil. Another term

for this meeting was synogaga which originally signified a

meeting outside of the Church. Other assumed activities at the

Sabbath included sexual orgies, cannibalism, and flying through

the air on objects and animals. Frequently in texts and in images

of the Sabbath, witches are seen travelling there in a similar

pilgrims travel to a holy site. Being that witches became more

and more associate with the devil, certain Sabbath locations like

Blåkulla were through to be an entrance to hell.

References to the Sabbath are not only found in Sweden; in

Norway, Anna Pettersdotter Absalon was accused of witchcraft in

1590 along with killing two men and transforming her servant into

a horse, who she then rode to the sabbath (Levack 209). Similar

to this testimony, many claimed to have witnessed these sinful

meetings take place, either having seen it first-hand or through

a dream-like state. Many of these ideas were strengthened in the

Early Modern period due to the reformation and the growing number

of witchcraft-related texts. Is for this reason that these images

of the witch and sabbath become more uniform throughout other

parts Europe and the Nordic countries at this time.

Despite the similar view of the witch or the sabbath with

that of other areas, differences arise in the late 16th century

in the manner that witchcraft was tried and accused; in some

ways, the process of trying witches was ahead of its time in

comparison with other areas in Europe. For example, 30 percent of

legal situations involving witchcraft were the accused requesting

trial themselves in order to clear their name. If successful, the

accuser would be fined. Furthermore, it was common for one to be

acquitted after having been examined by a priest, whose testimony

alone was proof that they were not a witch (Östing 101). Another

factor in Finland, Denmark, and Sweden was the high level of

criticism of using torture in witch trials, thus eliminating

false confessions or forcing blame on others (Levack 206). This

refrain from using torture contributes to trials in the North

being milder in comparison to other areas of Europe. In areas of

Germany or France, a potential which was tortured, had no choice

but to confess, and then additionally accused others in order to

save her or himself, thus further exacerbating the witch-craze.

Aside from the differences between in this area and the rest of

Europe, there are also the distinctions between the Nordic

countries themselves.

In Sweden specifically, laws were strict and designated by

the court and trials with a death sentence had to be brought

before the royal court, thus keeping witch-hunting at this time

in-check. Furthermore in 1583, Swedish law stated that six

individuals needed to provide testimony against a witch or the

witch had to confess to the crime of witchcraft (Levack 210). In

addition, rumors and slander were highly discouraged and could

result in fines in one accused another without evidence. Such

stipulations would further hinder any witch-craze. In German-

speaking areas, we find this lack of protocol in smaller city-

states to cause a more severe witch-craze as witch trials were

performed without royal involvement. During the Thirty Years War,

Queen Christina put all witchcraft related trials to an end

unless a death was involved. Despite the waning appearance of

witch-hunting in Sweden, the situation takes a turn for the worst

under the reign of Charles XI.

The great Swedish Witch-craze began in Dalarna in the north.

At the height of the panic in 1649, over 100 were executed. Many

of the accused were not only women but children as well. At this

time, the legends of witch sabbaths at locations like Blakulla are

brought into play, strengthening the beliefs about witches and

their activities throughout Northern Europe. Not only men and

women were affected but also children; many of which would point

out others as the accused, saying they were taken by witches at

night. Some of these children were bribed by others or forced to

point out witches- the coercer’s enemies whom he/she wished to

get rid of. (Östling 102). At this point in the second half of

the 17th century, more commonalities are found between the

growing witch-craze in Sweden and those in the rest of Western

Europe.

Charles XI made the situation worse by establishing

commissions to go out and accused witches. These commissions

would go to rural areas and increase witch-hunting by convincing

villagers to accuse others of witchcraft. This panic did not end

until the hunt reached Stockholm and most were being accused on

groundless accusations, the witch-craze of Sweden finally came to

an end (Levack 211). This was due to the realization that

children could not be seen as reliable witnesses in the trials,

which was not seen until the craze arrived in the capital. Before

this point however, it had already gone to affect surrounding

areas, Finland specifically (Östling 103).

The areas of Finland most affected by witch-hunting were the

Swedish-speaking areas and it is for that reason that some

consider it to fall into Swedish witch-hunting. The area was very

much influenced by Sweden’s witch-craze at the same period. In

fact, before 1640, Finland was not very concerned with Witchcraft

at all. A Swedish Bishop, Issac Rothovius is responsible for many

of the trials as he strived to eliminate sorcery and soothsaying

from Finland. We again we find mention to soothsaying occurring

in Finland, an idea from centuries before that has solidified in

the 17th century and remains related to evil witchcraft and

sorcery. Despite Rothovius’ attempts, Finland remained mild in

terms of witch-hunting: “Looking at Finland as a whole,

Witchcraft persecutions never got out of control… juries tempered

the zeal of witch hunters and the execution rate was lower than

in any other of the Nordic countries (Levack 213).

100 years before the witch-hunting in Sweden and Finland,

Denmark began its witch persecutions, making it the first of the

countries during the Early Modern Period and would have one of

the longest legacies of witch-hunting due to incidences of

unofficial accusations of witchcraft going all the way into the

20th century. In 1521 the responsibility of dealing with

witchcraft was put into question: should it be by the hand of the

Church of by that of the Crown? Like in Finland 100 years later,

we find a Bishop responsible for the start of persecutions. This

began in Seeland and would lead to 52 deaths in the 1540’s

(Levack 206). Therefore the Church once again fueled the

persecutions and the court followed with hesitation: all cases

where execution was sought had to be brought before the Royal

Court. Furthermore, Denmark was one of the areas that remained

hesitant in the torture of witches.

The earliest research conducted on witchcraft in Denmark was

by Gustav Henningsen who presents a “Dynamic Theory of

Witchcraft.” This theory shows that during a witch-craze, various

aspects of witch-hunting change; the first example of this being

that anyone was susceptible to accusation, not just society’s

outcasts that make up the majority of the accused before the

panic. In earlier trials, the practice of maleficum, or doing

harm to someone else via magic, was essential in persecution.

During the time of the witch-craze, the focus falls on the

relationship with the devil rather than what sort of witchcraft

the accused was actually doing, as at that time, all magic was

related to the devil (Johansen 12).

Norway had a slightly more mild history of witch

persecutions than Denmark, which ruled Norway at the time. The

population could also attribute to this mildness as it was

smaller than Denmark’s. Despite torture being viable in

interrogations, law required two witnesses to have seen the crime

in order for a conviction, thus making for a less intense level

of persecutions. Norway would end up bringing for some of the

most famous accusations of witchcraft, one of which being Anna

Absalon, who was discussed earlier. Others included the wife of a

high-level cleric. Accusing high-status officials of witchcraft

was a practice seen more frequently in Continental Europe; in

Germany, it was common from individuals to be accused of

witchcraft in order of the accused to achieve political desires

(Levack 209). This however was not seen as commonly in the north.

Although minor differences exist within Nordic areas, various

commonalities can be found in terms of the judicial process of

witches, the height of witch-hunting in the Post-Reformation

Period , and folk-beliefs related to witchcraft that are seen

more specifically in the Nordic region: Soothsayers in Finland,

trolls, etc.

Over the centuries, from the magical worldview present in

the middle ages, emulated by Nordic paganism and later stifled by

the Christian Church, Nordic witchcraft had its own evolution in

comparison to what is found elsewhere. The imminent witch-craze

and views on witchcraft brought forth by the Reformation and the

circulation of texts like Malleus Maleficarum, do have their effect,

as they do in the rest Western Europe. In spite of this,

differences in the gender of the accused, and the way the Nordic

royal courts dealt with witchcraft legislatively and judicially

create a modified image of both witchcraft in a criminal sense as

well as the witch, his or herself.

Works Cited

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Ankarloo, Bengt, and Gustav Henningsen. Early Modern European

Witchcraft: Centres and Peripheries. Oxford: Clarendon, 1990. Print.

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Johansen, Jens Chr. V. Da Djævelen Var Ude--: Trolddom I Det 17. Arhundredes

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