Christine Teipel

Christine Teipel (1621 – 4 May 1630) was a 9 year old child who was executed as a witch. This execution happened in Schmallenberg-Oberkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Darstellung des Hexensabbats aus der Chronik des Johann Jakob Wick

Life

She was questioned on March 7, 1630. She told about 15 other people who had taken part in a Witches' Sabbath, at night. There were 8 men, 6 women, and a little girl. During that year, there were 7 processes, from April to June of that year. During these processes, 58 people were sentenced to burn at the stake for witchcraft. 22 people of these were men, 2 were children.

commemorative inscript

Christine Teipel was sentenced and executed in the third of seven rounds of trials.

Near Oberkirchen there is a place where commemorative inscriptions have been erected.

Parts of what she had said during the trial

Pact with the devil

pact with the devil

"bekend guetlich, daß Johan Bell...vor etzlicher zeit, weiß nit, wieviel jar, in Stephans backhaus sie die zauberei gelert, ...(Sie) Hette auch austrucklich dem teuffel zugesagt, waruf der teuffel in eins wackern jungen gestalt, ...zu ir kommen, ... zu ir gesagt, ob sie im auch stehen [zu ihm stehen] wolte. Sie im druff geandwortet: ja, wen er ir etzwas guts tun wölte, wilches er ir auch zu tun versprochen."

Approximate translation:

"confesses, that Johan Bell (...) had taught her to do magic, some time ago; she does not know how long ago. This happened in Stephan's bakery. She had also committed to serving the devil. The devil had then appeared in the form of a vigorous young boy. The boy had asked her if she wanted to commit herself to him; she had agreed, under the condition that he should do something good for her, which he had promised (...)

Attending a Sabbat

"Sein boel (Teufelsbuhle) hett mit ir gedanzt... Der tanz hette woll zwei stunde geweret"

Translation: "Her mate (sex partner) had danced with her... The dance had lasted about two hours"

Sex with the devil

"bekend, daß der bol (Teufelsbuhle) ein ding furm leib gehabt, damit ihr in ir schamb etc., hab kein freud dabei gehabt, were gewesen, als wens holz gewest; und so oft sie zum tanz gezogen, hette er erst zu ihr kommen und boliret [= Geschlechtsverkehr haben], und wen sie´s nit leiden wolten, hette er ir zu schlagen gedrauwet" [= gedroht].

Translation: "confesses, that the mate (sex partner) had had a thing before him, to put into her (etc), that she did not enjoy it at all, it was like this thing were wood; And whenever she wanted to dance, he had first come, and had had sex; and when she did not want to, he had threatened to beat her (..)"

Panorama Schmallenberg

Books

(All of them are in German)

• Alfred Bruns, Die Oberkirchener Hexenprotokolle, in: Schieferbergbau-Heimatmuseum Schmallenberg- Holthausen: Hexen- Gerichtsbarkeit im kurkölnischen Sauerland, Dokumentation zur Ausstellung vom 21.7.- 4.8.1984, „Christinichen Teipeln aus Oberkirchen“, S. 26 ff
• Tobias A. Kemper: "...der allnoch anwachsenden bluenden jugend zum abscheulichen exempel...". Kinderhexenprozesse in Oberkirchen (Duchy of Westphalia). In: SüdWestfalen Archiv Jg.4/2004. S.115-136.

Other websites

• Pact with the devil