Mechteld ten Ham (died 25 July 1605) was an alleged Dutch witch in the city of

's-Heerenberg s-Heerenberg is a city on the Dutch-German border, in the Province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It is located about 5 km north of the German Emmerich, and about south of Doetinchem. It received city rights in 1379. 's-Heerenberg is the locat ...

in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

Background

The

witch trial A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...

which condemned ten Ham took place during a period of hardship for the city, which had suffered under plundering from Spanish troops and from the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

when the witch hysteria spread. People wanted someone they could blame, and ten Ham was a person with different habits and a different personality. She made predictions about the future and about people's health.

Trial

Ten Ham herself demanded to be put on trial; it was a custom to try an alleged witch by certain "ordeals", and ten Ham was convinced that the trial would prove that she was innocent. One was the ordeal of weight. Another was the ordeal of water. The ordeal of weight was often easy to pass. She wrote to a known critic of witch trials, and thus refused to go through the ordeal of weight. When she was put on trial, however, her tactic proved a miscalculation. People accused her of making animals sick, spoiling crops and destroying marriages with magic. The authorities arrested her and tortured her until she confessed.

Execution

She was found guilty of sorcery and sentenced to be burned alive at the stake. This sentence was carried out on 25 July 1605. The last witch trials to take place in the republic were the Roermond witch trial, where 64 people were burned to death for sorcery in 1613.

References

17th-century executions by the Netherlands 1605 deaths Executed Dutch women People executed by the Dutch Republic People executed by the Netherlands by burning People executed for witchcraft People from Montferland Year of birth unknown Witch trials in the Netherlands {{Netherlands-bio-stub

Background

Trial

Execution

See also

References