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THE WITCH
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A cultural and historical presentation
in moving pictures in seven parts.
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BENJAMIN CHRISTENSEN
wrote the script and produced this film
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between the years 1919 and 1921.
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For the photography
I am grateful to Mr. Johan Ankerstjerne
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and to Mr. Richard Louw
for the art direction.
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My main sources are mentioned
in the theater's program.
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Let us look into the history of mysticism
and try to explain
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the mysterious chapter known as the Witch.
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The belief in sorcery and witchcraft
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is probably as old as mankind itself.
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When primitive man is confronted
with something incomprehensible,
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the explanation is always
sorcery and evil spirits.
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In Persia, the imaginary creatures
depicted in the following picture
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were thus believed
to be the cause of diseases.
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The English scientist Rawlinson
and French scientist Maspero
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show us pictures of evil spirits
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believed to have resided
amongst the first civilizations.
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The belief in evil spirits,
sorcery and witchcraft
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is the result of naive notions
about the mystery of the universe.
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Here we see how the ancient Egyptians
perceived the shape of the world
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(according to Maspero).
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The ancient Egyptians believed
that high mountains
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surrounded land and water on all sides.
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The sky was believed to be made of steel
and supported by strong pillars
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that rested on the high mountains.
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The stars, like lamps,
hung from the sky on ropes.
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According to the beliefs
of other ancient civilizations,
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the sky was vaulted
and the earth shaped into terraces.
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The evil spirits of ancient times
became devils in medieval folklore,
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sneaking around and tempting children.
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The devils lived
in the depths of the Earth,
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which in the late Middle Ages
was thought to be a stationary sphere
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at the center of the universe.
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Surrounding the Earth and its waters —
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—the medieval man
first imagined a layer of air —
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—then a layer of fire —
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—and outside the fire were the planets,
moving celestial bodies.
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Each planet was attached
to a transparent, movable sphere.
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And outside the planetary spheres
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were the fixed stars
arranged in a sky of their own.
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Above it all, in the tenth crystal sphere,
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sits the Almighty
surrounded by nine angel choirs...
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...and he is the one
that keeps the spheres revolving.
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Deep down in the Earth's core lies hell,
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where those tempted by the devil
shall suffer forever.
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In the upper part of the following picture
(from the French historian Lacroix)
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we see devils stuffing the damned
into large cauldrons.
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A sinner is thrown straight into the fire
under one of the cauldrons.
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A devil pours nasty oozing brimstone
from a horn down a man's throat.
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Two monsters torment some of the damned
with their sharp teeth.
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I have found a strange
old mechanical representation of hell,
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which offers a good understanding
of the beliefs in the Middle Ages.
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Observe the eagerness
with which the two devils
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tend to the fire under the cauldrons!
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During the Middle Ages, devils and hell
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were considered real
and constantly feared.
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Witches were thought to have signed
an unlawful pact with the devil,
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and therefore
they were burned at the stake.
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The floating figure
at the top of the picture
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is a devil coming to get the witch
by lifting her up into the air.
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These next two pictures of pyres
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are from
German Life in the Past in Pictures.
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In this image
a witch is milking an ax handle.
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In the following image
a witch has cast a spell on a man's shoe.
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Witches usually meet in councils.
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And after the gathering
they might, for instance,
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sneak into a barn and bewitch a cow.
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The small angular symbol under the drawing
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was usually carved into the barn door
as protection against witches.
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In this primitive drawing,
a sorcerer and a witch cast spells,
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setting a village on fire.
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Witches were believed
to curse people with diseases
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with the help of witches' powder
and magic potions.
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Notice how the sick person
is laying naked in bed.
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That was customary in the past.
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It was a general belief that the witch
was naked at night when,
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during the so-called witches' Sabbath,
she danced with the devils.
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Women who wanted to participate
in the "Sabbath"
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sneaked away to a witch...
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...where they could have their backs
smeared with "witch ointment."
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The magic of the ointment
would allow them to fly through the air.
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From a work by the French doctors
Bourneville and Teinturier
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I have taken the following pictures
of the witches' Sabbath...
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...a secret satanic rite which thousands
of women claimed to have participated in.
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At the Sabbath, witches and sorcerers
first desecrate the church's holy cross.
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The devil christens each participant
of the Sabbath with devils' names.
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And a ceremonial banquet is held.
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The Sabbath food was often prepared
from corpses from the gallows.
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All witches had to show the devil
their respect by kissing his behind.
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After a merry dance with the devils,
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the witches fly home
at the first crow of the cock.
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These scenes are often depicted
in famous pictures of the witches' Sabbath
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from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
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To be continued.
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THE WITCH
Part 2
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Through imagination we now journey
to the underground home of a witch
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in the year of our Lord 1488.
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"Tonight the stars shine favorably
over the gallows hill."
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"Ugh, what a stench!
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This thief's body has hung
too long on the gallows."
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"When a thief's finger is too dried out
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it can no longer lend the brew
any healing power."
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"Hurry and open up, Karna,
so that the passersby won't see me."
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"Karna, can you perchance
get me a love potion
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that has power over
a pious man of the church?"
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"Here, young maiden,
take a potion of cat feces
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and dove hearts,
boiled during the full moon."
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"A drop of this in a man's drink
will soften his heart at once."
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00:19:10,818 --> 00:19:13,987
"Karna, can I have
an even stronger potion?"
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"If the maiden wishes to drive
the man out of his wits for love..."
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"...I have a potion boiled in May
from a young and playful male sparrow."
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00:21:15,484 --> 00:21:20,822
"Hold your coins, maiden!
First smell my ointment!"
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"This ointment is good,
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should you wish to travel
to Brocken one night."
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"Secretly smear this ointment on
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and the pious monk might
come directly to your chamber."
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"You will then fly high
up in the night air together
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and he will bestow upon you
many hungry kisses."
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"Listen, Brother, shouldn't we pray
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before we embark
on such a bold enterprise?"
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00:23:57,437 --> 00:23:59,147
"O Holy Mother,
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forgive us for cutting open
a person's dead body with a knife!"
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"It is not from untimely curiosity
that we sin so badly..."
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"...but so that the causes
of many terrible diseases
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might be revealed to us."
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"Help! Hurry! The peace of the cemetery
has been desecrated by two witches."
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Such were the Middle Ages,
when witchcraft and the devil's work
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were found everywhere.
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Thus did many strange events come to pass.
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"You shall not lie here and bewitch
the legs of honest people, devil woman!"
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"You watch out! Now your filthy mouth
shall remain open for all eternity."
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As with witchcraft,
so it is with the devil:
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people's belief in him was so strong
during the Middle Ages
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that he became real.
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The devil is everywhere
and takes all shapes.
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He shows himself as a nightmare,
a raging demon, a seducer,
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a lover and a knight.
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The devil's companion
can be young and beautiful,
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but she is more often old,
poor and miserable.
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Is it due to your eternal fear of the pyre
that you get drunk night after night,
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you poor old woman of the Middle Ages?
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When the evening bell tolls in the night
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and all the fires in town
are covered with ashes,
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the devil fetches Apelone
for his adventures.
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High up in the air
lies Apelone's dream castle,
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and there the devil
fulfills all her secret wishes.
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To be continued.
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THE WITCH
Part 3
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In Rites and Rights in the German Past
by Franz Heinemann,
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we can observe pictures
of inquisition judges at work.
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A woman accused of witchcraft
is thrown into the water
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to find out whether she is guilty or not.
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In History of Customs, Edward Fuchs
shows us how the accused is tied up.
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Two executioners use oars
to move the accused into deeper water
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where she can't touch bottom.
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If she floats,
she will be pulled up and burned.
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If she sinks, the judges thank God
for her innocence.
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I will now illustrate a witch trial
from beginning to end
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that takes place at the time
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when the pope sent traveling
inquisition judges to Germany.
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"Oh, my husband could not have been
struck by dizziness so suddenly
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unless a witch cast a spell on him!"
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00:36:19,095 --> 00:36:21,514
"Be comforted, Anna, wife of the printer,
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the power of the lead
will soon reveal it."
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00:37:08,227 --> 00:37:10,897
"O powerful Saturn,
allow this lead to show
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00:37:10,980 --> 00:37:13,733
if Jesper the Printer is bewitched."
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00:37:52,605 --> 00:37:55,608
"It is written here
in the shape of the lead
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that his dizziness
is due to atrocious witchcraft."
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"Oh, Peter, look.
Where is the evil witch?"
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"You might see that witch
before you wish to..."
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"...before I wish to."
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"Jesus' holy cross and wounds!
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I did not hear you come,
Maria the Weaver!"
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00:39:37,293 --> 00:39:39,628
"Oh, maiden, please have mercy on me,
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a poor woman who has to go
begging from door to door!"
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00:39:46,302 --> 00:39:48,846
"Are you hungry, Maria? If so, sit down."
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00:40:10,451 --> 00:40:13,537
"Here. Eat now, if you can,
in the name of Jesus."
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00:40:42,650 --> 00:40:46,737
"Watch out, little sister, watch out.
That woman has evil eyes."
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"The youngest servant of the inquisition
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may not exchange words
with a strange maiden."
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"How wonderful! It burned like fire
when the young maiden took my arm."
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00:43:36,407 --> 00:43:38,492
"Young maiden, you know quite well
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that what you're accusing this woman of
endangers her life!"
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00:43:44,623 --> 00:43:49,712
"Swear by the cross
that you are not deadly enemies!"
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00:44:16,405 --> 00:44:19,074
"Let's go, young men,
before her feet are lifted
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00:44:19,158 --> 00:44:22,786
so that the evil witch
won't turn us all into mice."
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00:44:46,894 --> 00:44:49,521
"Now you can have a scalding death,
just what you deserve,
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you damned mistress of the devil!"
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00:45:05,162 --> 00:45:07,081
To be continued.
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00:45:07,164 --> 00:45:09,083
THE WITCH
Part 4
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So that she is not wearing
hidden witch powder,
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two "honest" matrons will change
the clothes of the accused in jail.
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00:45:24,139 --> 00:45:27,851
"Maria the Weaver was just brought here,
accused of witchcraft."
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00:45:32,523 --> 00:45:34,441
"Master, look carefully,
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00:45:34,525 --> 00:45:37,986
there might be witch powder hidden
in the hair on the witch's body."
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00:45:58,173 --> 00:46:02,261
The suspect's nights are now dictated
by the inquisition judges.
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00:46:06,098 --> 00:46:09,685
Two honorable men try amiably
to persuade her to confess.
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00:46:56,815 --> 00:47:02,738
If she stubbornly denies her charges,
they will use a kind of mental torture.
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00:47:21,632 --> 00:47:25,385
"Woman, see here the seven
holy words of Jesus on the cross,
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00:47:25,469 --> 00:47:27,888
written on consecrated parchment."
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00:47:35,729 --> 00:47:38,273
"I will hang them around her neck
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00:47:38,357 --> 00:47:42,027
so that the devil
will no longer help her to be silent."
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00:47:46,990 --> 00:47:52,037
"Does she see this length
of consecrated wax as the Body of Christ?"
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00:47:59,002 --> 00:48:02,422
The accused is taken backwards
into the torture chamber,
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00:48:02,506 --> 00:48:05,467
so as not to bewitch the judge
when entering.
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00:48:33,996 --> 00:48:35,706
"For the last time I ask:
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00:48:35,789 --> 00:48:38,584
Does she want to confess
her witchcraft and her misdeeds?"
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00:48:53,849 --> 00:48:57,894
"Let her suffering begin so that we might
put an end to the harshness of her heart."
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00:49:26,381 --> 00:49:28,342
"Oh, you learned men!
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00:49:28,425 --> 00:49:31,637
How do you expect me to confess
to that which is not true?"
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00:49:54,159 --> 00:49:59,122
"Well, Rasmus the Executioner!
Let now the evil witch's body sting."
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00:50:22,646 --> 00:50:26,525
"Let her catch her breath,
Rasmus the Executioner,
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00:50:26,608 --> 00:50:30,404
and loosen the screw a little at a time
as she confesses her sins!"
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00:50:43,792 --> 00:50:45,669
"Oh, learned men!
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00:50:45,752 --> 00:50:49,464
I confess that I've given birth
to many children fathered by the devil."
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00:51:03,186 --> 00:51:07,774
"And when I gave birth,
Karna and her coven helped me."
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00:51:13,321 --> 00:51:15,198
"If I am spared the pain,
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00:51:15,282 --> 00:51:18,243
I will confess that Trina has smeared me
with witch ointment."
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00:52:28,563 --> 00:52:31,191
"Oh, yes, learned men,
miserable me has flown
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00:52:31,274 --> 00:52:34,903
through the night air to Brocken
on Trina's broom."
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00:53:24,536 --> 00:53:28,498
"And there sat the devil's grandmother
with all her witchcraft."
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00:54:05,452 --> 00:54:09,915
"And there, many a witch who had not
accomplished enough evil deeds
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00:54:09,998 --> 00:54:12,417
was treated miserably by the devil."
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00:54:52,874 --> 00:54:57,087
"And there they spat on Mass
and upon all that is holy."
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00:55:07,889 --> 00:55:10,141
"And a meal of toads
and unchristened children
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00:55:10,225 --> 00:55:11,893
was cooked by Karna."
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00:55:58,273 --> 00:56:00,358
"Listen, Maria the Weaver,
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00:56:00,442 --> 00:56:04,154
did you also see the devil put his mark
on the witches' foreheads?"
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00:56:07,657 --> 00:56:11,953
"Oh, learned men, I saw the witches
kiss the evil one on his behind."
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00:56:47,197 --> 00:56:49,741
"And the mother of Anna,
the printer's wife,
232
00:56:49,824 --> 00:56:51,701
wished me a scalding death —"
233
00:56:58,291 --> 00:57:01,461
"— that damned woman, I saw her kissing
the evil one so tenderly...
234
00:57:01,544 --> 00:57:04,297
and Sissel, her servant — that old fool —
was also there."
235
00:57:15,809 --> 00:57:20,730
"And Elsa, who kicked me some time ago,
she shall also burn at the stake."
236
00:57:25,985 --> 00:57:30,740
"She passed Martin the Writer's door
one moonlit night with her sister."
237
00:57:54,222 --> 00:57:56,766
"And they cast a difficult spell
on Martin the Writer
238
00:57:56,850 --> 00:57:59,394
with the water
they threw against his door."
239
00:58:11,281 --> 00:58:15,827
"And it was the very same night
that death took Martin the Writer."
240
00:58:28,673 --> 00:58:31,384
"And now I will tell you
everything about the witches,
241
00:58:31,467 --> 00:58:34,387
who yell after me
in the street where I live."
242
00:58:45,315 --> 00:58:47,901
To be continued.
243
00:58:47,984 --> 00:58:49,903
THE WITCH
Part 5
244
00:58:49,986 --> 00:58:52,739
So begins the endless cycle
of the witchcraft era.
245
00:58:52,822 --> 00:58:56,659
Each witch gives 10 others away.
The town wardens have much to do.
246
01:00:46,853 --> 01:00:50,732
If you oppose the capture of a witch,
you must be a witch yourself.
247
01:00:50,815 --> 01:00:54,402
The destiny of young Anna,
wife of the printer, is sealed.
248
01:01:06,956 --> 01:01:12,503
So now only two people are left
in Jesper the Printer's haunted house.
249
01:01:18,217 --> 01:01:21,512
During the witchcraft era
it was dangerous to be old and ugly,
250
01:01:21,596 --> 01:01:25,433
but it was not safe
to be young and pretty either.
251
01:01:47,830 --> 01:01:50,666
"Brother, help me.
My thoughts are sinful."
252
01:02:11,104 --> 01:02:13,439
"Bare your body, Brother!"
253
01:02:41,634 --> 01:02:43,594
"I'll whip your sinful body
254
01:02:43,678 --> 01:02:46,013
and your poor soul
until you are purified."
255
01:03:13,875 --> 01:03:16,961
"O Brother, why did you stop beating me
with the scourge?
256
01:03:17,044 --> 01:03:19,797
Now my soul will surely be damned."
257
01:03:34,395 --> 01:03:37,940
"Father Henrik,
Brother John is spellbound."
258
01:03:43,112 --> 01:03:47,325
"A witch appears in his cell
and tempts him."
259
01:04:17,688 --> 01:04:21,776
"And she has grabbed him by the wrist."
260
01:04:46,592 --> 01:04:49,345
"Stand up, Brother.
Father Henrik is coming."
261
01:04:58,688 --> 01:05:02,692
"Brother, you have not accused
the maiden of witchcraft, have you?"
262
01:05:22,044 --> 01:05:26,465
"You know the punishment for those
who refuse to witness against a witch."
263
01:05:41,689 --> 01:05:47,278
And so they fetch you too, young maiden,
to give you their infallible test.
264
01:05:56,579 --> 01:05:59,832
"In the name of the Holy Trinity,
if you are not a witch,
265
01:05:59,915 --> 01:06:01,959
you will now shed tears!"
266
01:06:06,088 --> 01:06:10,551
"See for yourself — you cannot shed tears,
as you are allied with the evil one."
267
01:06:14,972 --> 01:06:18,142
We assume now
that the young woman resists;
268
01:06:18,225 --> 01:06:21,395
that no threat and no pain
can persuade her to confess.
269
01:06:30,196 --> 01:06:33,115
I have tried to find out
how these pious inquisition judges
270
01:06:33,199 --> 01:06:35,034
behaved in such circumstances.
271
01:07:08,150 --> 01:07:10,236
And I see before me some scenes,
272
01:07:10,319 --> 01:07:14,198
which I believe I have not depicted
too darkly here on the white screen.
273
01:07:38,848 --> 01:07:42,351
"Wake up, young maiden!
I bring you great happiness."
274
01:09:20,866 --> 01:09:23,035
"See, young maiden,
I give you your freedom —
275
01:09:23,118 --> 01:09:25,955
if you would just show me
a small favor in return."
276
01:09:28,666 --> 01:09:30,960
"Why do you taunt me, monk?
277
01:09:31,043 --> 01:09:34,255
What favor can a poor creature like me
show you?"
278
01:09:42,805 --> 01:09:47,309
"Teach me the beautiful art
of making thunder with this water!"
279
01:10:30,352 --> 01:10:33,272
"If you do not want to take my word,
young maiden,
280
01:10:33,355 --> 01:10:36,775
stand up and look out
at the jail courtyard."
281
01:11:01,342 --> 01:11:03,844
"Did the guards leave?"
282
01:11:06,388 --> 01:11:09,767
"Yes, they went far away, maiden.
The keys are now in my hand
283
01:11:09,850 --> 01:11:13,270
and I can secretly take you out
through the town gates tonight."
284
01:11:25,199 --> 01:11:28,369
"And I swear
eternal silence to you, maiden,
285
01:11:28,452 --> 01:11:32,456
about all you will reveal
about witchcraft with thunder."
286
01:11:48,097 --> 01:11:50,849
"Remember, maiden,
that Jesper, the printer's child,
287
01:11:50,933 --> 01:11:54,019
is all alone in the world,
without any relatives besides you."
288
01:12:28,178 --> 01:12:31,181
"Oh, Father Henrik,
see the tears of the young maiden.
289
01:12:31,265 --> 01:12:34,351
Look, she cries,
hence she cannot be a witch."
290
01:12:39,940 --> 01:12:43,986
"Silly boy! Don't you know that witches
secretly smear themselves with spittle
291
01:12:44,069 --> 01:12:46,697
so that we might believe it to be tears?"
292
01:13:06,633 --> 01:13:10,596
"Here, maiden,
see the child who will miserably perish
293
01:13:10,679 --> 01:13:14,558
as a dishonorable,
rejected witch's offspring without you."
294
01:13:32,451 --> 01:13:35,412
"Stand here and listen to all
the maiden's words,
295
01:13:35,496 --> 01:13:38,373
so that later you may
bear witness against her."
296
01:13:46,340 --> 01:13:51,720
"And will you secretly open the jail door
for the child and me if I speak?"
297
01:13:56,892 --> 01:14:03,899
"Then I will tell you that I once heard
a traveling stonecutter mention..."
298
01:14:07,194 --> 01:14:12,783
"...that when witches call for thunder,
they put their hands in the water..."
299
01:14:20,457 --> 01:14:21,875
"You hardened witch!
300
01:14:21,959 --> 01:14:25,045
Before the sun is down tomorrow,
you will burn alive at the stake."
301
01:14:49,444 --> 01:14:51,697
"And then they will burn you too, maiden,
302
01:14:51,780 --> 01:14:54,783
as edification for man,
as sweet scent for God."
303
01:14:54,867 --> 01:14:57,286
And one pyre after another
burns in the town square
304
01:14:57,369 --> 01:15:01,123
until the judges will one day
move on to the next town.
305
01:15:08,463 --> 01:15:12,301
The witch madness,
like a spiritual plague,
306
01:15:12,384 --> 01:15:15,345
ravages wherever these judges go.
307
01:15:28,984 --> 01:15:32,821
In the span of a few centuries,
over eight million women, men and children
308
01:15:32,905 --> 01:15:35,115
were burned as witches.
309
01:15:43,373 --> 01:15:44,750
To be continued.
310
01:15:44,833 --> 01:15:46,293
THE WITCH
Part 6
311
01:15:46,376 --> 01:15:50,088
There are witch confessions
that are completely insane.
312
01:15:50,172 --> 01:15:53,091
Many women, for instance,
confess that — transformed into cats —
313
01:15:53,175 --> 01:15:57,054
they soiled the altar during the night,
while two devils in the shape of animals
314
01:15:57,137 --> 01:15:59,514
stood guard at the church door.
315
01:16:28,335 --> 01:16:33,632
But confessions also exist
which may well be close to the truth
316
01:16:33,715 --> 01:16:36,843
from the time when superstition ruled.
317
01:16:48,897 --> 01:16:52,442
Many women were burned
because they confessed
318
01:16:52,526 --> 01:16:55,904
that they bewitched a marriage bed
by "tying knots."
319
01:17:21,680 --> 01:17:24,975
For each knot, a pregnancy is destroyed.
320
01:17:27,978 --> 01:17:31,106
And the happiness of a whole house
could be ruined
321
01:17:31,189 --> 01:17:33,859
with witch hair and metal crosses.
322
01:17:43,744 --> 01:17:47,664
Many women have probably used
such magic tricks
323
01:17:47,748 --> 01:17:51,251
and believed in their destructive effects.
324
01:17:51,335 --> 01:17:54,004
But to fully understand
the witches' confessions,
325
01:17:54,087 --> 01:17:58,008
we must take a closer look
at the devices in the torture chamber.
326
01:18:21,865 --> 01:18:25,369
You and I would probably also be driven
to confess mysterious talents
327
01:18:25,452 --> 01:18:28,455
with the help of such tools.
Isn't that so?
328
01:19:49,995 --> 01:19:55,375
The French doctor Paul Regnard
describes how this collar was used.
329
01:20:02,466 --> 01:20:06,219
The collar was tightened
with the help of four taut ropes.
330
01:20:14,102 --> 01:20:16,563
The wrists and ankles of the accused
331
01:20:16,646 --> 01:20:19,733
were tied to two iron rods
screwed to the floor.
332
01:20:24,696 --> 01:20:29,075
When a fire bowl
was put under the poor victim —
333
01:20:32,412 --> 01:20:34,247
—his movements became so violent
334
01:20:34,331 --> 01:20:36,625
that the spikes of the collar
entered his neck.
335
01:20:39,920 --> 01:20:42,881
Doctor Regnard shows another picture,
which speaks for itself.
336
01:20:42,964 --> 01:20:45,467
It is simply called
"After the interrogation."
337
01:20:57,062 --> 01:21:00,815
The "painful interrogation"
preferably began with a "lighter" torture.
338
01:21:00,899 --> 01:21:03,151
The thumbscrew, for example.
339
01:21:13,787 --> 01:21:16,706
One of my actresses insisted
on trying the thumbscrew
340
01:21:16,790 --> 01:21:18,708
when we shot these pictures.
341
01:21:25,298 --> 01:21:28,218
I will not reveal the terrible confessions
342
01:21:28,301 --> 01:21:31,346
I forced from the young lady
in less than a minute.
343
01:21:35,976 --> 01:21:38,895
In the convents during the Middle Ages,
fear of the devil
344
01:21:38,979 --> 01:21:41,648
escalated into an almost hopeless despair.
345
01:21:54,911 --> 01:21:59,874
The pious submitted themselves
to many a regrettable self-punishment.
346
01:22:19,477 --> 01:22:21,771
Often a single nun was seized by insanity,
347
01:22:21,855 --> 01:22:24,774
and suddenly thereafter
the whole convent was overtaken —
348
01:22:29,779 --> 01:22:32,616
—a mysterious, contagious insanity.
349
01:22:37,370 --> 01:22:39,623
In writings that have
survived to this day,
350
01:22:39,706 --> 01:22:42,792
these unhappy women
wrote down with touching simplicity
351
01:22:42,876 --> 01:22:44,961
how the devil penetrated the convent.
352
01:23:19,829 --> 01:23:22,540
"Get thee behind me, Satan!"
353
01:25:15,487 --> 01:25:17,322
"May all good saints stand by me!
354
01:25:17,405 --> 01:25:20,241
Sister Cecilia is conniving
with the evil one."
355
01:26:46,536 --> 01:26:49,372
How these religious women
must have suffered
356
01:26:49,455 --> 01:26:53,293
before their nerves abandoned them
and insanity broke out!
357
01:26:53,376 --> 01:26:56,379
In their biographies,
this desperate cry is always found:
358
01:26:56,462 --> 01:26:59,340
The devil forced us into it!
359
01:27:11,144 --> 01:27:15,315
"O Holy Mother,
the evil one has a terrible power!"
360
01:27:18,318 --> 01:27:22,947
"Look, now he forces me
into doing what I want the least!"
361
01:27:59,067 --> 01:28:01,611
"Burn me at the stake, pious fathers!
362
01:28:01,694 --> 01:28:04,697
Can't you see
what the evil one forces me to do?"
363
01:28:13,164 --> 01:28:14,916
"Take me! Don't you see him?
364
01:28:14,999 --> 01:28:17,502
The evil one stands over there
and threatens me."
365
01:28:20,505 --> 01:28:22,006
To be continued.
366
01:28:22,090 --> 01:28:24,175
THE WITCH
Part 7
367
01:28:24,258 --> 01:28:29,722
We leave aside actual devil possession
(speaking in tongues and convulsions)
368
01:28:29,806 --> 01:28:32,934
and come to present times.
369
01:28:33,017 --> 01:28:36,187
The majority of witches in the old days
were poor women;
370
01:28:36,270 --> 01:28:41,567
those who nowadays are taken in
by pious organizations and nursing homes.
371
01:28:57,250 --> 01:29:01,004
One or more traits that might
make an old woman noticeable
372
01:29:01,087 --> 01:29:04,757
was enough to bring her to court
during the witchcraft era.
373
01:29:24,610 --> 01:29:29,407
Let us not believe that the devil
belongs solely to the past.
374
01:29:29,490 --> 01:29:33,411
The lovely old woman who plays
the role of Maria the Weaver in my film
375
01:29:33,494 --> 01:29:37,665
once raised her tired face to me
during a pause in the shoot —
376
01:29:41,210 --> 01:29:46,924
—and said: "The devil is real.
I have seen him sitting at my bedside."
377
01:29:52,096 --> 01:29:55,933
With the old woman's permission,
I show here a prayer book
378
01:29:56,017 --> 01:30:00,229
in which a woman (from 1921!)
claims to know the devil's true form.
379
01:30:42,855 --> 01:30:46,692
The witch's insanity can be explained
as nervous exhaustion,
380
01:30:46,776 --> 01:30:49,445
which I will attempt to illustrate here.
381
01:30:49,529 --> 01:30:51,531
I ask my viewers to understand
382
01:30:51,614 --> 01:30:54,283
that in the following scenes
I let the same actress —
383
01:30:54,367 --> 01:30:59,664
—portray many different patients
suffering from related nervous disorders.
384
01:31:08,756 --> 01:31:11,300
I have personally known
a very nervous young woman
385
01:31:11,384 --> 01:31:13,302
who often walked in her sleep.
386
01:31:13,386 --> 01:31:16,097
Why did she always perform in her sleep
387
01:31:16,180 --> 01:31:19,392
the deed she feared most of all
to perform?
388
01:31:37,869 --> 01:31:41,581
Like a witch forced by the devil,
this woman —
389
01:31:41,664 --> 01:31:43,833
both when sleeping and awake —
390
01:31:43,916 --> 01:31:47,461
succumbs to a mysterious
craving to strike matches.
391
01:31:52,258 --> 01:31:57,263
Had this obsession anything to do
with the morbid fear of fire
392
01:31:57,346 --> 01:32:00,474
she developed after one broke out
in her home?
393
01:32:17,825 --> 01:32:20,703
She stated that she felt
as if she were fighting
394
01:32:20,786 --> 01:32:23,831
against an unknown force
stronger than her own will.
395
01:32:35,843 --> 01:32:38,971
Isn't there something "witchlike"
about this sleepwalker
396
01:32:39,055 --> 01:32:42,767
who moves through the slumbering
household with her matches?
397
01:33:10,962 --> 01:33:13,047
Doesn't she remind us of the nun
398
01:33:13,130 --> 01:33:17,343
who walks through the chapel
with her knife, forced by the devil?
399
01:33:28,229 --> 01:33:32,441
This poor woman,
also in a dreamlike state,
400
01:33:32,525 --> 01:33:35,695
does just what she fears the most.
401
01:33:43,619 --> 01:33:48,040
These compulsive acts,
these somnambulistic, dazed conditions
402
01:33:48,124 --> 01:33:54,005
are consistent with the nervous diseases
we call hysteria.
403
01:33:54,088 --> 01:33:56,674
And there are still more connections
404
01:33:56,757 --> 01:33:59,885
between the medieval witch
and the modern hysterical person.
405
01:33:59,969 --> 01:34:01,554
We remember, for instance,
406
01:34:01,637 --> 01:34:04,598
that the witch received nightly
visitations from the devil.
407
01:34:19,780 --> 01:34:22,783
For the present-day witch
it is not the devil,
408
01:34:22,867 --> 01:34:26,037
but rather a famous actor,
a popular clergyman
409
01:34:26,120 --> 01:34:30,416
or a well-known doctor
who disturbs the calm of the night.
410
01:34:38,341 --> 01:34:41,260
The hysterical person will undoubtedly say
411
01:34:41,344 --> 01:34:45,181
that these celebrities come to her
through the wall or window.
412
01:35:37,650 --> 01:35:41,904
Notice how deliberately
this unconscious woman holds onto her bed.
413
01:35:41,987 --> 01:35:46,575
Artificial mannerisms like this are always
exhibited by people afflicted by hysteria.
414
01:36:11,308 --> 01:36:14,145
In the Middle Ages it was believed
that during the Sabbath
415
01:36:14,228 --> 01:36:16,856
the devil put some invisible marks
on the witch's body
416
01:36:16,939 --> 01:36:18,607
where all sensitivity vanished.
417
01:36:34,707 --> 01:36:37,793
The executioner often found
insensitive areas
418
01:36:37,877 --> 01:36:40,129
on the back of the accused.
419
01:36:58,939 --> 01:37:01,192
"I see clearly that you are a witch.
420
01:37:01,275 --> 01:37:05,237
You do not even feel
the master's instrument on your back."
421
01:37:11,535 --> 01:37:17,583
Today this strange insensitivity
is considered a symptom of hysteria.
422
01:37:40,064 --> 01:37:44,693
"No, Doctor, I do not feel
you touching my back at all."
423
01:38:01,085 --> 01:38:04,338
"Yes, it is as I thought.
Your daughter is suffering from hysteria."
424
01:38:34,076 --> 01:38:37,413
"From what you told me,
I must strongly recommend
425
01:38:37,496 --> 01:38:41,917
that we detain your daughter
for the time being in my clinic."
426
01:38:50,926 --> 01:38:53,095
"It would be a pity if your daughter
427
01:38:53,178 --> 01:38:56,473
were to have an unpleasant exchange
with the police."
428
01:39:06,692 --> 01:39:08,777
Poor little hysterical witch!
429
01:39:08,861 --> 01:39:12,740
In the Middle Ages
you were in conflict with the church.
430
01:39:12,823 --> 01:39:15,117
Now it is with the law.
431
01:40:28,023 --> 01:40:30,693
"Will you please step into my office."
432
01:40:33,237 --> 01:40:36,907
"Or would you prefer
that I call the police?"
433
01:41:03,142 --> 01:41:05,436
"Your name? Do you have a card?"
434
01:41:13,193 --> 01:41:15,612
"Your address?
Do you have a telephone in your home?"
435
01:41:32,421 --> 01:41:35,758
"Thank you, that's fine. You can leave.
I will contact you later."
436
01:41:44,349 --> 01:41:48,520
"If my family learns about this,
I will be committed."
437
01:41:52,065 --> 01:41:54,943
"I beg you to understand
that I am an unhappy, sick person.
438
01:41:55,027 --> 01:41:57,029
I do not know what I am doing."
439
01:41:59,615 --> 01:42:03,118
"I have been tormented
by a persistent fear during the war.
440
01:42:03,202 --> 01:42:05,037
I am a broken person."
441
01:42:08,332 --> 01:42:13,712
"It is as if an unknown power compels me
to commit these terrible thefts."
442
01:42:19,927 --> 01:42:25,224
"Look. I just stole this little,
expensively bound Russian book."
443
01:42:28,101 --> 01:42:31,313
"What shall I do with it?
I do not know a word of Russian."
444
01:42:34,191 --> 01:42:37,820
"My husband died in the war,
and I have not been the same since..."
445
01:42:45,869 --> 01:42:48,330
"I promise not to pursue this matter,
446
01:42:48,413 --> 01:42:52,209
but I have to ask you
never to visit my store again."
447
01:43:02,761 --> 01:43:06,473
Centuries have passed,
and the Almighty of medieval times
448
01:43:06,557 --> 01:43:08,976
no longer sits in his tenth sphere.
449
01:43:27,286 --> 01:43:32,332
We no longer sit terrified in church,
staring at the frescoes of devils.
450
01:43:46,763 --> 01:43:50,976
The witch no longer flies away
on her broom over the rooftops.
451
01:43:59,693 --> 01:44:03,530
But isn't superstition
still rampant among us?
452
01:44:14,875 --> 01:44:16,835
Is there an obvious difference
453
01:44:16,919 --> 01:44:19,713
between the witch and her customer
then and now?
454
01:44:28,096 --> 01:44:33,644
We no longer burn our old and poor.
But do they not often suffer bitterly?
455
01:44:38,315 --> 01:44:41,318
And the little woman,
whom we call hysterical —
456
01:44:41,401 --> 01:44:44,404
alone and unhappy,
isn't she still a riddle for us?
457
01:44:49,076 --> 01:44:52,287
Nowadays we lock away the unhappy soul
in a mental institution —
458
01:44:52,371 --> 01:44:55,332
or if she is wealthy, in a modern clinic.
459
01:45:05,258 --> 01:45:07,219
And so we will console ourselves
with the notion
460
01:45:07,302 --> 01:45:09,471
that the mildly temperate shower
of the clinic
461
01:45:09,554 --> 01:45:11,682
has replaced the barbaric methods
of medieval times.
462
01:45:40,293 --> 01:45:43,964
THE END.
39816
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