Hemmingsen and Reeh call my conclusions a myth constructed by academics of later times. This conclusion is only possible with an extremely eclectic and ahistorical reading of the sources and arguments presented in my book.58 introduction coming penalty; it was for example almost always wise that in the defence not mention, for us interesting, aspects of the motive.57 Anundercurrent in the reply of Krogh becomes visible in his last paragraph: The critique of the utilisation of the words ’magic’ and ’myth’ by Krogh direct us to an almost impossible problem – which words of today should we use when studying and describing another period? Is it necessary for us to use words understandable, or even acceptable, to those we describe, or?And how should we proceed with words that could have been received as insulting or worse? I would say that, generally, important and weighty arguments should be needed if research is to depict individuals or groups with descriptions that they themselves, when they have understood it, would fail to recognise or acknowledge. This especially applies when a term could be interpreted as derogatory. Even if we leave the direct debate between Reeh and Hemmingsen and Krogh there are essential problems they discuss, mostly concerning the relationship between the time of the historians and the time studied. We can consider how we as accurate as possible could understand another time, and how we could use the methods and sciences of today without letting them inadvertently colour our finds from another time. Three aspects of language and culture pose clear problems in this study, while modern technology highlights another. Although at first glance the majority of those executed for these crimes generally look to consist of men, my impression is that, with the exception of penal colonies and the military, the women tended to be more numerous and even outnumber the men. When it comes to referring in general descriptions to the criminals my choice therefore, avoiding constructions such as s/he, is to use ”she” and ”her” as so many of the cases relate to women.59 58 Krogh 2020 p 232. 59 See e g Jansson 1998 p 54, Andersson 1998 p 67, and Stuart 2023 p 9 sqq, 75 sqq, 319 sqq. 38
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