Norway’s witch trials: the woman killed for a fatal storm

Else Knutsdatter, one of 91, mainly women, executed, was burned to death in fishing community of Vardø

Exactly 400 years ago, a violent storm proved deadly to a woman who did not even witness it. This was the outcome of one of the biggest witch trials in Scandinavian history, in the Norwegian fishing community of Vardø.

A sudden storm in December 1617 sank many boats and drowned 40 men. Previously, a famous trial had been held of people accused of raising a storm to sink King James I’s ship, and there was a growing belief that witches could cause storms.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/apr/27/norways-witch-trials-the-woman-killed-for-a-fatal-storm

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