Man As Witch: Male Witches in Central Europe

One in four alleged witches in Central Europe was male. This study traces the witch trials during which these accused male witches were prosecuted and executed, opening up a little known chapter of early modern times. The book provides statistics on the number of men affected by witch hunts and describes specific regional differences in the way witch hunts were pursued in different parts of Central Europe. A gender analysis of contemporary theological and demonologic literature shows that the concept of what constituted a witch was by no means homogenous or focused only on women. In order to elucidate the social profile and personal fates of alleged male witches, the author depicts the conflict situations from which trials of men arose and uses the original records to describe such trials.