The Witches of Vardo: THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER: 'Powerful, deeply moving' - Sunday Times

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The first is the doctrine of demonology. Begun around the 1620s by a Scottish governor, demonology spread throughout Europe. Its influence in Vardo is best seen in the story of a learned couple from the south of Norway, Ambrosius Rhodius and Anne Friedrichsdatter Rhodius, who were imprisoned at Vardohus in 1662. Ambrosius was an astrologer and physician (the two believing to be complementary sciences), but he was considered politically dangerous because he predicted the result of an ongoing war (we’re guessing it wasn’t favorable). Anne was known for being outspoken, and got into a disagreement with the governor. Altogether, it's believed that 140 witch trials were held across Finnmark in the 17th century. Of those, 90 people were condemned to death. Vardø is exposed to the Barents Sea. Photo: Asbjørn Nilsen / Statens vegvesen In 1687, a requirement for judgements in witchcraft cases to be heard at parliament before a death sentence could be carried out became law. Norway's last known witch execution took place in 1695. The law remained in place until a widespread criminal reform in the 19th century. The two parts of the memorial. Photo: Helge Stikbakke / Statens vegvesen The Steilneset memorial

Spoken Word and Social Practice: Orality in Europe (1400-1700). BRILL. 2015-07-17. ISBN 9789004291829.The brilliant writing weaves a brutal, heart aching yet moving story with resilience, love and kindness triumphing over cruelty at the heart of it. This isn’t one to take lightly and I found it really difficult to read at times, not because of the quality of the writing but because of the brutality faced by the women accused. There is beautiful imagery and connection between the characters but the strength of the writing is also woven into the sense of dread and fear inspired by the terrorising governor and his henchman.

On 24 December 1617 Eastern Finnmark in northern Norway suffered a terrible storm, where "sea and sky became one." [2] This happened suddenly, "as if loosened from a bag." [2] A great majority of the male population was out at sea at that time and were surprised by the storm, which sank ten boats and drowned forty men. The same year, the new law of sorcery and witchcraft for the union of Denmark-Norway was issued and announced in Finnmark in 1620. [2] Witch trial [ edit ] And this is the way I see it and I read beautiful and horrifying discussions of it in The Winternight Trilogy, The Glass Woman, and The Mercies. I hoped The Witches of Vardo would enrich my knowledge and experience with this topic, but it made me bored and angry instead. Men have been accused of witchcraft. But at the heart of it was misogyny mixed in with religion. Scapegoating was one of the big reasons why women were persecuted for witchcraft – and still are in certain parts of India and Africa. When things go well: grand. When things go wrong: they’re a witch.This novel is unflinching in its portrayal of what awaiting a witch trial meant for the accused. The brutality was severe, the degradations, the inevitable outcome. It is not a novel for the fainthearted, yet it is also not gratuitous in its portrayal. Told from two POV we follow the lives of Anna and Ingeborg as they both try to survive during a time where every woman can be suspected of witchcraft. Out of the two women’s stories I felt more drawn to Ingeborg’s. After losing her father and brother she becomes the glue that’s holding her family together. Her mother is withdrawn and her younger sister Kirsten depends on her for survival. Even before the main action of the story started Ingeborg showed her tenacity and strength in the face of adversary, I feel we all have a little of Ingeborg in us, waiting to be unleashed. admin (2016-12-28). "The evil north: Vardø's witch trials". The Norwegian American . Retrieved 2019-10-25. Many of the women told the court that they had been celebrating, dancing and drinking with the Devil. This was said to have taken place at Domen, a small mountain between the fishing villagesKibergandVardø. Vardø is an island community in the far north-east of Norway. In the days before airplanes and motorcars, Vardø and the entire county of Finnmark were truly remote places.