The witch‐hunt in early modern Finnmark

Norwegian witchcraft trials: a reassessment

“…This fascinating aspect of Norwegian witchcraft trials is being further explored by Rune Hagen, who puts the proportion of Samis at 18 per cent of the accused, though they made up just under half of the population in Finnmark. 23 Furthermore, the cases of Samis being charged with witchcraft only rarely show signs of shamanism. 24 Drawing on recently discovered sources, he is also able to show that Finnmark had the highest number of death sentences for witchcraft in relation to its population of any region of Europe.…”

“…24 Drawing on recently discovered sources, he is also able to show that Finnmark had the highest number of death sentences for witchcraft in relation to its population of any region of Europe. 25 In his articles as well as in his ongoing research, he calls attention to the connection between witchcraft trials in Scotland and in Finnmark. 26 Hagen has focused his research on the Scottish connection on the study of the royally appointed Scottish district governor Lord Cunningham, but there was a large contemporary immigration from Scotland to Northern Norway which also merits consideration.…”

“…46 Similarly, Rune Hagen rightly considers diabolism a central feature of witchcraft trials in Finnmark, which is borne out in the much richer sources from that county. 47 A very interesting finding by Ragnhild Botheim is that witchcraft trials were started earlier and were prosecuted with greater intensity in the city of Bergen than in the surrounding countryside. 48 This discovery of a local centre and peripheries is another example of how the results of research undertaken should inspire future projects.…”

“…10 In total, we now know of 18 trials in the years 1701-1754. 11 Naess is the one who comes closest to actually doing this, but he settled for simply counting the number of witches (47)…”