Lippstadt

Anton Praetorius (Lippstadt 1560 – 6 December 1613 near Heidelberg in Laudenbach (Rhein-Neckar)/Bergstrasse in Germany), Protestant pastor and fighter against the persecution of witches (witchhunts, witchcraft trials) and against torture. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Lippstadt is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Events February 27 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. ... December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January - Galileo observes Neptune, but mistakes it for a star and so is not credited with its discovery. ... Heidelberg and the other cities of the Neckar valley The castle (Schloss) above the town Main Street (Hauptstrasse) Shopping district View from the so called alley of philosophers (Philosophenweg) towards the Old Town, with Heidelberg Castle, Heiliggeist Church and the Old Bridge Heidelberg is a city in Baden-Württemberg... Laudenbach is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. ... Bergstraße (translated: hill street) is a Kreis (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. ... A witch-hunt is a search for suspected witches; it is a type of moral panic. ... There is a disputed proposal that this article should be merged with witch-hunt. ... Torture is defined by the United Nations Convention Against Torture as any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he...

Life and writings

Persecution of witches

Anton Praetorius was the son of Matthes Schulze. He later changed his name to the Latin Praetorius. He studied theology and became principal of the humanistic Latin school in Kamen, Westphalia. There, he married, but his wife Maria died of the plague. They had one child: Johannes. Image File history File links Persecution_of_witches. ... Image File history File links Persecution_of_witches. ... Kamen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the district Unna. ...

Heidelberg Castle Wine Barrel

As the first Calvinist pastor in the parish of Dittelsheim, he undertook a trip to Heidelberg, the centre of Calvinist theology in Germany. Praetorius was so impressed by the Great Wine Barrel in the Heidelberg Castle that he published a poem with the title "Vas Heidelbergense" in October 1595, praising its size as an apparent proof of the superiority of the Calvinist faith. Image File history File linksMetadata Heidelberg_Castle_Wine_Barrel. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Heidelberg_Castle_Wine_Barrel. ... Heidelberg and the other cities of the Neckar valley The castle (Schloss) above the town Main Street (Hauptstrasse) Shopping district View from the so called alley of philosophers (Philosophenweg) towards the Old Town, with Heidelberg Castle, Heiliggeist Church and the Old Bridge Heidelberg is a city in Baden-Württemberg... The Heidelberg Tun (known in German as the Grosses Fass) is an extremely large wine vat contained within the cellars of Heidelberg castle. ... This article is being translated, so some or all of this article may be in another language. ...

In his poem on Wolfgang Ernst, Earl of Ysenburg, Büdingen and Birstein ("De pii magistratus officio"), he asked the Christian governments for a reformation of nation and church along the principles of the Bible and the Calvinist faith. Subsequently, the earl called him as a princely preacher to his castle in Birstein.

In the town of Birstein (near Frankfurt am Main), Praetorius published church songs, a catechism, and a book for families about Christian education in 1597. In 1602, he made a contribution to the discussion about the interpretation of the Last Supper and the Sacraments in his book De Sacrosanctis novi foederis Jesu Christi. Frankfurt am Main [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hessen and the fifth largest city of Germany. ... Events 17 January - A court case in Guildford recorded evidence that a certain plot of land was used for playing “kreckett” (i. ... The Last Supper in Milan (1498), by Leonardo da Vinci According to the Gospels, the Last Supper (also called Lords Supper) was the last meal Jesus shared with his apostles before his death. ... In Christian belief and practice, a sacrament is a rite that mediates divine grace, constituting a sacred mystery. ...

Fight against the persecution of witches

Praetorius Bericht Zauberey 1602

In 1597 Anton Praetorius was appointed as pastor to the Earl of Büdingen/ Ysenburg in Birstein (near Frankfurt am Main) and had to witness the torture of 4 women accused of witchcraft. Image File history File links Praetorius_Bericht_Zauberey_1602_Frontpage. ... Image File history File links Praetorius_Bericht_Zauberey_1602_Frontpage. ... Frankfurt am Main [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hessen and the fifth largest city of Germany. ...

File Birstein Witchcraft Trial 1597

According to the court records, Reverend Praetorius was so upset about the torture of the accused woman that he pressed for a stop in the trial against the last surviving woman. His protest against the torture can be found in the record of the witch-trial of Birstein 1597: "As the pastor has violently protested against the torture of the women, it has therefore been stopped this time." As a consequence Anton Praetorius was dismissed by the Earl. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 383 pixelsFull resolution (5474 × 2621 pixel, file size: 336 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Birstein_Witchcraft_trial_1597. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 383 pixelsFull resolution (5474 × 2621 pixel, file size: 336 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Birstein_Witchcraft_trial_1597. ...

In his new parochy in Laudenbach/Bergstrasse (near Heidelberg) he wrote the book Gründlicher Bericht über Zauberey und Zauberer (Thorough Report about Witchcraft and Witches) to protest against torture and the prosecution of witches. At first he published the book in 1598 under the name of his son Johannes Schulze ("Johannes Scultetus"). In 1602 he dared to publish the book under his own name. The book was published again in 1613 and posthumously in 1629. Laudenbach is the name of: a municipality in German state of Bavaria Laudenbach (Unterfranken) a municipality in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis in Baden-Württemberg: Laudenbach (Bergstraße) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Bergstraße (translated: hill street) is a Kreis (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. ...

Laudenbach House of the Pastor

Praetorius was one of the first to describe the terrible situation of the prisoners and to protest against torture, and with his "Bericht" Praetorius publicly objected to the prevailing attitude in the church (a view held by Roman Catholics as well as Protestants such as Martin Luther and John Calvin) on the torture and burning of witches. Image File history File links Laudenbach_House_of_the_Pastor. ... Image File history File links Laudenbach_House_of_the_Pastor. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,[1] priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer. ... John Calvin (July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564) was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and was a central developer of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism or Reformed theology. ...

Publications (German and Latin)

Front page of Poem on Heidelberg Castle Wine Barrel 1595

• Vas Heidelbergense, Heidelberg, October 1595 (Poem about the 1. Great Wine Barrel in the Castle of Heidelberg. Only one remaining print, translated into German by Burghard Schmanck)

• De pii magistratus officio (Poem on Wolfgang Ernst, Earl of Ysenburg, Büdingen and Birstein). Heidelberg, Printed by Christoph Löw, 1596 (Only one remaining print, translated into German by Burghard Schmanck)
• Hauptstück (catechism) Christlicher Religion sampt den gemeinesten Gebetlein/ und etlichen Fragen. Printed in Lich by Nicolaum Erbenium. 1597. Only one remaining print, fragment
• Haußgespräch, darinn kurtz doch klärlich vnd gründlich begriffen wirdt, was zu wahrer Christlicher Bekanntnuß auch Gottseligem Wandel ... zu wissen von nöhten, (conversation in the family about Christian education) Printed in Lich 1597
• Gründlicher Bericht von Zauberey und Zauberern/ darinn dieser grausamen Menschen feindtseliges und schändliches Vornemen/ und wie Christlicher Obrigkeit ihnen Zubegegnen/ ihr Werck zuhindern/ auffzuheben und zu Straffen / gebüre und wol möglich sey... kurtz und ordentlich erkläret. (Thorough Report about Witchcraft and Witches) By Joannem Scultetum Westphalo camensem. (Johannes Scultetum is a pseudonym of Anton Praetorius) printed in Lich by Nicolas Erbenis. 1598
• Clarissimo juris utriusque Doctori Domino Jano Grutero Sponso. Poem for the wedding of Jan Gruter, (translated into German by Burghard Schmanck) 1601 (Only one remaining print)
• Gründlicher Bericht von Zauberey und Zauberern: kurtz und ordentlich erkläret durch Antonium Praetorium, (Thorough Report about Witchcraft and Witches) printed in Lich/ 1602
• De Sacrosanctis novi foederis Jesu Christi (about the sacraments) printed by Wolgangus Kezelius and Conradus Nebenius, Lich 1602
• Nemo Ad Desideratissimas 15. Iunii.,1613 (Poem for a wedding of a pastor) Lancellotus Heidelberg (only one remaining print)
• Von Zauberey und Zauberern/ Gründlicher Bericht, (Thorough Report about Witchcraft and Witches) printed 1613 in Heidelberg by Johann Lancellot/ Andreae Cambier.
• Gründlicher Bericht, (Thorough Report about Witchcraft and Witches) printed 1629 in Frankfurt am Main by Johann Niclas Stoltzenbergern/ Johann Carl Unckels
• several handwritten letters

Image File history File links Front Page Vas Heidelbergense 1595 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Front Page Vas Heidelbergense 1595 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Bibliography (in German)

• Hartmut Hegeler: Anton Praetorius, Kämpfer gegen Hexenprozesse und Folter, (fighter against the persecution of witches and against torture) Unna, 2002 ISBN 3-9808969-4-3

• Hartmut Hegeler und Stefan Wiltschko: Anton Praetorius und das 1. Große Fass von Heidelberg, (the 1. Great Wine Barrel in the Castle of Heidelberg) Unna, 2003 ISBN 3-9808969-0-0

External links

• http://www.bautz.de (Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, Verlag Traugott Bautz)
• http://www.anton-praetorius.de biography and literature about Anton Praetorius
• http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/%7Ecd2/drw/F3/praetor/o02wid.htm reprinted text of the "Bericht" of Praetorius 1613
• http://www.theology.de/praetorius.htm Biography including coulored pictures
• http://news.genealog.de/rheinhessen/dittelsheim-hessloch/anton-praetorius-teil1.shtml Praetorius as pastor in Dittelsheim (with pictures)
• http://www.sfn.uni-muenchen.de/hexenverfolgung/art784.htm biography