quences and which does not exist in ”well-ordered republics”. A Christian authority should moderate its punishment and, in accordance with God’s word, should primarily occupy itself with the conversion of sinners. Has Matthiae influenced Queen Christina in this respect? In the international literature, among other places, she has been described as progressive in her handling of the witchcraft cases at Verden, then a province under the Swedish Crown. The queen herself, after her abdication, admits that during her reign she expressly forbade the death penalty for witches, as long as they could not clearly be proved guilty of murder. She was convinced that the crimes which women confessed were often illusions, caused either by disturbances in their female functions or by the frauds of the Devil. (Lea 1942, p. 4) The rescript of VTrden makes no mention of such a distinction between fatal witchcraft and other forms, nor can it be seen in the Swedish cases from the queen’s period of sovereignty. On the contrary there are at least three death sentences with royal confirmation in which fatal maleficium against a person is not found among the charges. It is probable that the queen’s statement is a rationalisation made after the cessation of the great trials in Sweden and France in the 1670s. 2.6. Contemporary theological and scholarly literature in Sweden stems clearly from continental models. It deals at special length with the problem of limiting the power of the Devil in relation to God and Man. The journey to Blåkulla and the Witches’ Sabbath are described in approximately the same way as in the great trials later on. The aspect of witchcraft as religious transgression is given prominence to justify demands for stricter application of the law. 3.1. The great Swedish trials began in North Dalecarlia in the summer of 1668. From the outset the confessions and evidence display the peculiarities and special characteristics which were to become typical for future cases in Norrland, Uppland and Stockholm. The inquiries were conducted by the local court assisted by the parish priest and the sheriff. In all, 18 death sentences were passed, four of which were for minors. However, the sentences were submitted in the usual manner to the Court of Appeal in Stockholm, which made considerable changes. Only seven adults who had themselves confessed had their penalties confirmed. Their confessions had in some cases been extracted under torture and the convictions rested largely upon the evidence of children and accomplices. In Stockholm the trials were discussed by the government. The Lord Chancellor Per Brahe felt that the matter should be investigated further before the sentences were carried out. This cautious suggestion was ignored and the executions took place at the end of May 1669. The sev'en condemned 329
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