Stedelen

Stedelen (died ) was a man who was accused of being a witch in Boltigen, Switzerland between 1397 and 1406.

Background After the harvest had failed at his village, Stedelen was accused of using black magic to destroy the crops, killing cattle Scavius was slaughtered by his enemies, but he had a student, Hoppo, who, according to Greyerz, had been the tutor of Stedelen.

There are no records about Hoppo, but Stedelen from Boltigen had allegedly been made an expert on magic by Hoppo, and supposedly learned to steal manure, hay and such from others' fields to his own by magic, create hail and thunderstorms, make people and animals sterile, make horses crazy when he touched their hooves, fly, and scare those who captured him. Greyerz also accused Stedelen of having taken the milk from the cows of a married couple in order to make the wife miscarry.

Trial

His trial took place in a secular court, Stedelen admitted to the charge (under torture) of summoning forth demons as part of a pact with the Devil and being part of a cult. Stedelen was burned at the stake.

Greyerz believed there existed a satanic cult, whose members swore themselves to the Devil and ate children at the churches at night. He continued his persecutions and once tortured a woman to confirm this.