Witches and Jesuits: Friedrich von Spee (1591-1635)

A Jesuit, poet, opponent of trials for witchcraft. Born at Kaiserswerth, he joined the Jesuits in at age nineteen and was ordained in 1622. He taught at several German universities. During the storming of Trier by the imperial forces during the Thirty Years War, he distinguished himself in the care of the suffering, and died soon thereafter. Two of his works were not published until after his death: The Golden Book of Virtues, a book of devotions, and the Trutznachtigall, a collection of fifty to sixty sacred songs. His principal work is the Cautio Criminalis, an arraignment of trial for witchcraft. He does not advocate the immediate abolition of trials for witchcraft, but describes abuses and demands reform. A long while passed before witch burning ceased in Germany, but the Cautio Criminals brought about its abolition in a number of places, and led the way to its gradual suppression. The moral impression created by its publication was very great. Even in the seventeenth century, a number of new editions and German translations appeared, Protestants also eagerly assisting in promoting its circulation.(From the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia)