The Witch of Cologne (46 page)
Read The Witch of Cologne Online
Authors: Tobsha Learner
Tags: #Historical, #Romance, #(v5), #Fantasy, #Religion, #Adult
GERMANIA
After the Thirty Years’ War between the Lutherans and the Catholics ended in 1648, Germania was a confusing quilt of many small princedoms with religious allegiances split between Catholic and Protestant. However, by 1665 Germania had evolved into the fulcrum upon which an international balance of power turned. There were two main forces: in the north, Prussia was controlled by the Lutheran royal, the Great Elector Frederick William (1640–88); in the south, the Catholic Hapsburg emperor, Leopold I, ruled out of Vienna, and had final jurisdiction over Cologne. Each was the nucleus of an international struggle and each exploited the struggle of its rival.
At the same time other tensions existed: in the north, there was a push for new territory prompted by Charles X of Sweden; and in the south, by Louis XIV of France and Mahomet IV, Sultan of Turkey.
The outcome of these struggles was a new European state system, brought into existence by 1715. The German states’ involvement in creating the new political Europe deflected their interest away from attempts to strengthen or alter the German structure of state rights as embodied by the Catholic Holy Roman Empire, of which Cologne was a part.
By 1665 the Hapsburg Empire was a shadow of its former tyrannical self. Weakened by the Thirty Years’ War, the young Emperor Leopold was under attack from the Sultan of the aggressive Ottoman Empire, Mahomet IV, and threatened by the ambitions of the French King Louis XIV who was battling the Hapsburgs for territories in the Spanish Netherlands.
As the Wittelsbach electors of Bavaria (of which Maximilian Heinrich was one) were traditionally allied with France, Leopold had to remain constantly vigilant to ensure that his power over those territories of the Holy Roman Empire was not undermined.
Jan de Witt was the councillor pensionary of Holland from 1653–72, and led the Dutch Republic after the end of its war of independence. A remarkable intellectual in his own right, he was the champion of many resident philosophers and scientists who had taken refuge in the tolerant (and comparatively secular) Netherlands. In 1665 Holland was embroiled in an expensive and bloody sea war with the English, primarily over trading rights and ownership of the spice islands. As a result, de Witt came under increased pressure from the royalists within his own country.
Holland was allied with France, but Louis XIV persuaded England and Sweden to betray their alliance with Holland, and England united with France to invade the Dutch Republic in April 1672. During this period the young Prince William of Orange was increasingly gaining support and when de Witt’s older brother, Cornelius, was arrested in July 1672, de Witt resigned as political leader of Holland. When de Witt visited his brother in prison, both men were attacked and killed by a large crowd. Holland reverted back to a royalist state.
abba:
Hebrew for ‘father’.
alguacil:
the sheriff of a Spanish municipality, executive officer of the courts and responsible for maintaining the security of the prison.
anusim:
Hebrew term for Jews forced to convert to Catholicism. (Anus: singular masculine; anusa: singular feminine.)
Ashkenazim:
Jews of Eastern Europe and Germany.
auto-da-fé:
The public declaration of the judgement passed on persons tried in the courts of the Spanish Inquisition, followed by the execution of the sentences imposed, including burning of heretics at the stake.
Ba’al Shem:
An expert at calling up demons.
barras:
A coarse linen fabric, sackcloth.
barvell:
A thick leather apron worn by workmen and fishermen.
Beth Din:
A rabbinical court with authority over communal ecclesiastical matters.
boarhound:
Predecessor to the Great Dane, originally known as the English hound, a cross between a mastiff and an
Irish greyhound. Bred specifically for boar hunting and popular in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The last record of the breed was 1860.
bombazine:
A twilled fabric woven from silk and wool.
brith:
The Jewish ritual of circumcision.
bruja:
Spanish for ‘witch’.
bürgermeister:
Mayor.
catalpha:
A silk textile.
cheder:
Jewish primary school.
cornet:
Headdress in the shape of a coif, fitted at the back of the head with long flaps either side of the face.
damassin:
Brocade or damask fabric with gold or silver patterns woven into it.
dornex:
A fabric with a linen warp and wool weft, used for furnishings.
ducape:
A heavy corded silk.
dybbuk:
An evil spirit which has not been laid to rest.
ferrandine:
A fabric made of silk and wool.
Gaffeln:
Board of councillors particular to Cologne, made up of merchants from the city’s various guilds.
gehenna:
A place where the wicked are punished after death (Hell).
golem:
A giant man made from mud brought to life by supernatural means.
hep:
Ancient cry from the Latin meaning ‘Jerusalem has fallen’. Still heard in pogroms in the seventeenth century.
Hevra Kadisha:
Jewish society which looks after the burial of the dead.
hongreline:
Thigh-length overcoat with flared skirt.
kammerhund:
Chamber dog. An early breed of Great Dane favoured by the aristocracy.
kittel:
A white garment worn on important religious occasions. Sometimes used as a burial shroud.
Lilith:
The first wife of Adam. After being cast out of Eden she became queen of demons, seducer of men (conceiving her demon children through their nocturnal emissions) and killer of newborn babies by strangling them. Snwy, Snsnwy and Smnglf were the three angels sent by God to negotiate with Lilith when she was cast out of Eden. They threatened to kill a hundred of her sons every day unless she stopped strangling newborns. Lilith’s argument was that she had been created solely for this purpose but promised she would not harm a newborn if she should see the images of the three angels at the birthing, hence the use of the Three Angels amulet.
limpieza de sangre:
Literally, ‘purity of blood’; a term used to signify freedom from Semitic blood.
lustring:
A glossy silk cloth often used for petticoats.
Magen David / Shield of David:
A six-pointed star formed by two equilateral triangles of equal size imposed upon one another. An amulet for protection in popular usage from thirteenth century onwards.
mezuzah:
Case containing parchment inscribed with religious texts and nailed above the front door of a house.
mikvah:
Ritual bathhouse for women.
mohel:
An expert in Jewish laws pertaining to circumcision and trained to carry out the procedure.
musico:
Bordello disguised as a theatre.
paduasoy:
A rich strong silk fabric used for vestments.
paragon:
Strong watered silk.
patches:
Adornments in the shape of hearts, diamonds, triangles and stars stuck onto the face.
Philip and Cheney:
A soft woollen fabric.
philoselle:
A wrought silk.
poplin:
A plain weave usually of cotton with a fine ribbing.
poriut:
Hebrew for ‘fertility’.
Rosh Hoshana:
Jewish New Year, usually in September.
Schülergelief:
A pogrom carried out by university students.
scientia nova:
Literally, ‘new science’ (Latin); a term used before the words ‘science’ and ‘scientific’ were adopted.
Sephardim:
Jews of Spanish, Portuguese or North African descent.
Shabbetai Zevi:
A real historical figure born in Smyrna, Zevi claimed to be the new Messiah and attracted a huge following amongst the disenchanted European Jewry. He was eventually captured and forced to convert to Islam by the Turkish Grand Vizier Ahmed Köprülü.
talith:
Fringed shawl worn by men over the head and shoulders while praying.
tefillah:
Phylactery: a small black box containing writings from the Torah bound by leather thongs to the forehead and left arm and worn by Jewish men during prayers.
the Three Angels:
An amulet used during childbirth depicting the angels Snwy, Snsnwy and Smnglf and engraved with kabbalistic writings. Used to protect against the demon Lilith.
yarmulke:
A skullcap worn by Orthodox Jewish men at all times and others when praying.
yeshiva:
Traditional religious school for boys.
the Zohar:
Key kabbalistic text, written in Aramaic and sometimes referred to as the ‘Bible’ of the kabbalists. The title means ‘the sacred light’.
These are some of the reference books used during the writing of
The Witch of Cologne.
Abrahams, Beth-Zion, translator and editor,
Glückel of Hameln, The Life of Glückel of Hameln 1646–1724
, Horovitz Publishing Co., 1962.
Feuer, Lewis Samuel,
Spinoza and the Rise of Liberalism
, Transaction Publishers, 1997.
Israel, Jonathan I.,
European Jewry in the Age of Mercantilism 1550–1750
, Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 1997.
Israel, Jonathan I.,
The Dutch Republic, Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477–1806
, Oxford University Press, 1998.
Kamen, Henry,
The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision
, Yale University Press, 1998.
Nadler, Steven,
Spinoza: A Life
, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Schama, Simon,
The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age
, Vintage, 1997.
Scholem, Gershom,
Kabbalah
, Meridian, 1978.
Seward, Desmond,
Monks and Wine
, Crown Publishers, 1979.
Thanks go to the following individuals for their generosity with their time, knowledge and input: Professor Bernard Rechter and Professor Walter Veit of Monash University; Herr Henning Bochert; Herr Volkmar Schultz MdB of the Bundestag; Mr Eugene DuBow of the American Jewish Committee; Dr Dieckhoff and Dr Joachim Deeters of the Historical Archives of Cologne; Herr Carsten Schliwaki and Dr Klaus Pabst of the University of Cologne; Sister Monika-Clare Ghosh of Ballykileen, Ireland; Gerald Asher,
Ordre du mérite agricole
and wine editor of
Gourmet
magazine; Dr Christopher and Catherine Tuckfield; Simon Palomares; Ed Campion; Michelle Frankel; Lillian Klein; Fred and Annie Seligmann; Christelle Davis; Leo Raftos; Simon Duffy; Eva Learner; my Australian agent Rachel Skinner for her ego management and astrological insights; Nicola O’Shea for her brave copy editing; and lastly to my publisher Linda Funnell for her tenacity, wisdom and stamina.
Acknowledgments also go to the libraries of UCLA, Los Angeles; University of Judaism, Los Angeles; State Library of New South Wales, Sydney; Cologne Public Library; and the Goethe Institute, Los Angeles.
For the wonderful cover photograph I thank Moshe Rosenzveig, Kristen Anderson and Belinda Balding.
Finally, on a more personal note, my eternal gratitude goes to those friends and family who helped restore my faith, hope and belief during the adverse personal circumstances surrounding the gestation of this book: Rosslynd Piggott; Tushka Bergen; Geoffrey Wright; Paul Schütze; Loris Alexander; Jeremy Asher; Karyn Lovegrove; Siobhan Ryan; Poppy King; Lisa Dethridge; Eva, Adam, Ruth and Danielle Learner—thank you all for being there when suddenly there was no one.
Tobsha Learner was born and raised in England and has lived in both Australia and the US. She is well known in Australia as a playwright and her first collection of short stories,
Quiver,
has sold over 150,000 copies internationally. Her second book,
Madonna Mars,
was an erotic thriller set in Los Angeles and Washington. Although she has written historical fiction for both stage and screen,
The Witch of Cologne
is her first book in this genre.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Quiver
Madonna Mars
HarperCollins
Publishers
First published in Australia in 2003
This edition published in 2010
by HarperCollins
Publishers
Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
A member of the HarperCollins
Publishers
(Australia) Pty Limited Group
www.harpercollins.com.au
Copyright © Tobsha Learner 2003
The right of Tobsha Learner to be identified as the moral rights author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000
(Cth).
This book is copyright.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to the publishers.
HarperCollins
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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Learner, Tobsha.
The witch of Cologne.
ISBN: 978 0 7322 7076 6 (pbk.)
ISBN: 978-0-730-49110-1 (ePub)
1. Witchcraft—Europe—History—17th century—Fiction.
2. Jewish women—Fiction. 3. Midwives—Fiction.
4. Cologne (Germany)—Fiction. I. Title.
A823.3
