Anton Praetorius
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Anton Praetorius was born 1560 in the town of Lippstadt – he died 6 December 1613 near Heidelberg in Germany. He worked for the Christian Church as a Protestant pastor.
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[edit] Life and writings
Anton Praetorius was the son of Matthes Schulze. He later changed his name to Praetorius. Praetorius wrote a poem about the Heidelberg Wine Barrel [1] in the Heidelberg Castle in city of Heidelberg in October 1595.
In 1596 he worked as a pastor in the church in Birstein near Frankfurt am Main. There Praetorius worked for a prince and wrote church songs and books of religion in the year 1597.
[edit] Persecution of witches
Praetorius fought against torture and against the chase of witches. Some women were accused to be witches. People thought that witches can do harm to others. So these women were arrested and put in prison.
[edit] Fight against the chase of witches
In 1597 Anton Praetorius protested against the torture of women accused of witchcraft.
Praetorius was so shocked about the torture of the accused woman that he demanded a stop. His protest was successful.
In 1598 he wrote a book to protest against torture and the prosecution of witches. The book was published again in 1602, 1613 and in 1629. Praetorius described the terrible situation of the prisoners and protested against torture.
[edit] Bibliography (in German)
- Hartmut Hegeler: Anton Praetorius, Kämpfer gegen Hexenprozesse und Folter, (fighter against the persecution of witches and against torture) Unna, 2002
- Hartmut Hegeler und Stefan Wiltschko: Anton Praetorius und das 1. Große Fass von Heidelberg, (the 1. Great Wine Barrel in the Castle of Heidelberg) Unna, 2003
[edit] External links
- http://www.bautz.de (Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, Verlag Traugott Bautz)
- http://www.anton-praetorius.de biography and literature about Anton Praetorius
- http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/%7Ecd2/drw/F3/praetor/o02wid.htm reprinted text of the "Bericht" of Praetorius 1613
- http://www.theology.de/praetorius.htm Biography including coulored pictures
- http://news.genealog.de/rheinhessen/dittelsheim-hessloch/anton-praetorius-teil1.shtml Praetorius as pastor in Dittelsheim (with pictures)
- http://www.sfn.uni-muenchen.de/hexenverfolgung/art784.htm biography