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

The book under review, a slender volume whose modesty belies the careful research and translation work that went into it, offers a translation of the records of a witchcraft trial conducted in Brunswick (Braunschweig), Germany, in the year 1663. The date is important because it puts the trial into a period of renewed flare-ups of witch scares, even though, in the context of the whole of the early modern witch phenomenon, it is located more toward the end of the persecutions. Moreover, the date is also important, because sociopolitically, Braunschweig had escaped a good part of the ravages of the many wars that raged throughout Europe during the seventeenth century. However, its fortune was also its misfortune: the city’s relative calm attracted thousands of refugees, and a plague brought on by several severe winters had devastated a good part of its population, killing more than five thousand people.

The book begins with a brief introduction in three sections. We read about the city, the historical moment of the city in which the trial occurred, and about the witch phenomenon itself. Copies of contemporary maps help the reader to locate the proceedings. All this leads to the life of Tempel Anneke herself. The introduction effectively contextualizes the translation process. The editor and translator review their choice of terms and use of linguistic and legal conventions; they describe the archival sources and provide information on currency and on the language of witchcraft. The introduction concludes with notes on the translation itself, which constitutes the third part of the book.

According to the editor/translator, the translation is “intended as a primary source document,” a fact that makes this effort so commendable. Since we do not have access to the original document, it is not possible to compare the original to the translation. But, following the editor/translator’s explication, we can assume that the translation is directed more toward exactitude and accuracy of facts than toward a smooth reading style. In a translation of this kind such a choice is commendable; in fact, it is the only one available. Most, if not all, readers will come to this book seeking accurate information about a trial that deals with an event and a mindset very distant from our own. The translation offers exactly that: it affords us a glimpse at the judicial and legal complexities that governed this witch trial, the interrogations, and the final prosecution of the accused. Helpful footnotes shed light on some of the more obscure procedures, provide names not immediately familiar, and enlighten us about unfamiliar colloquialisms.

All this makes the book an excellent primary source for undergraduate and graduate courses on the topic, as well as for scholars who may not have access to the archive or who cannot read German.