The Perpetual Flame

As Europeans embarked on their colonial ventures in the Americas, they also forged new frontiers closer to their homelands. In Norway's far northern territory of Finnmark, settlers from the south moved into the ancestral home of the Indigenous Sámi people, and by the end of the seventeenth century, nearly five percent of the population had been tried for witchcraft. This episode tells the story of Norway’s Vardø witch trials and their legacy. 

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.   

Episode sources  

Chapters

• 0:00 Pre-roll
• 0:07 Intro
• 1:35 1620–21
• 7:56 1651–53
• 13:29 1662–63
• 22:14 Conclusion
• 25:17 Outro

Transcript

Pre-roll
You’re listening to Enchanted, a podcast on the history of magic, sorcery and witchcraft. I’m Corinne Wieben.

Intro
As Europeans embarked on their colonial ventures in the Americas, they also forged new frontiers closer to their homelands. In Norway, the far northern territory of Vardø, nestled on the border with Finland and Russia, had long been the ancestral home of the indigenous Sámi people. However, by the seventeenth century nearly half the population of Vardø consisted of migrants from the south, seeking to establish their presence in the Arctic territory of Finnmark. This migration would play a pivotal role in the witchcraft accusations that would rock the region. By the end of the seventeenth century, 135 people, nearly five percent of the population of Finnmark, had been tried for witchcraft. Of those, 91 were convicted and executed. But the story doesn’t end there.

In this episode, I bring you the story of Norway’s Vardø witch trials and their legacy.

1620–21
Between 1551 and 1760, a dark shadow loomed over Norway as the fear of witchcraft gripped the nation, leading to the accusation of over 860 individuals. In a pattern typical of most Protestant regions, approximately eighty percent of those accused were women. This fervor for witch trials was significantly fueled by King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway, whose zeal was inspired by his brother-in-law, King James VI of Scotland, a passionate witch-hunter and demonologist. The fervent efforts in Scotland spurred King Christian’s determination to eradicate witchcraft from his own kingdom.

Norway’s first well-documented witch trials began in 1620, mirroring the infamous North Berwick trials in Scotland two decades earlier. This connection was likely due to the influence of John Cunningham, a Scotsman and courtier of King James VI, who oversaw the Norwegian trials as the governor of Finnmark. Cunningham, first appointed ship’s captain, then admiral of a Danish fleet sent to Greenland in 1605, quickly garnered a reputation for ruthless discipline and harsh tactics. His notoriety grew after his involvement in the Kalmar War between 1611 and 1613. By 1619, King Christian saw him as the ideal candidate to impose Protestant order and conformity on the diverse population of Finnmark.

Finnmark desperately needed a governor, especially after the previous one had died suddenly in 1601, an event many Protestants attributed to Sámi magic. In 1617, King Christian issued a decree titled “About Witches and Their Accomplices,” mandating that every subject must report suspected witches or be considered accomplices themselves. From that point on, witchcraft, broadly defined to include any action associated with devil-worship, heresy, or folk magic, was punishable by death or exile. This decree set the stage for a brutal campaign against those accused of witchcraft, deeply affecting the lives and communities of Norway for the next century. Coincidentally, on Christmas Eve of that same year, a devastating storm struck off the coast of Finnmark. The sudden storm sank ten boats and drowned forty men, spreading paranoia and fear.

Taking his cue from the king’s proclamation, Cunningham opened an investigation into witchcraft. Many of the accused were the indigenous Sámi, whose nomadic culture had long been associated with witchcraft in the minds of southern settlers. The Sámi were suspected to have supernatural powers thanks to their ability to blend into and traverse the harsh terrain, even amid darkness and blizzards. Their religion, an animist belief incorporating ancestor worship and shamanism, was also a fearful mystery to their neighbors.

No surprise, then, that the first trial was of a Sámi woman named Kari. On May 13, 1620, Kari was tried for witchcraft before a jury of ten men in the court of the local magistrate. Her neighbors testified that she caused two men to fall overboard and drown and had tormented one of her Norwegian neighbors and his wife. Complicating matters was the conflict Kari had gotten into with one of the drowned men, Abraham Nilsen. Nilsen accused Kari’s lover, Johannis Oelsen, of impregnating his servant. When he demanded that Oelsen pay to support the woman and her child, Oelsen shrugged and said, “If I can get hold of anything I shall give it to her.” In response, Nilsen tried to punch Oelsen, but Kari intervened, saying, “If you hit him, the devil will be set loose!” Such a threat may have been considered rhetorical earlier, but not in 1620, not after the king’s declaration and John Cunningham’s careful investigation of witchcraft in Finnmark. When Nilsen fell overboard and drowned a few days after this confrontation, he happened to fall from one of Cunningham’s own boats.

When the magistrate questioned Kari’s lover, Johannis Oelsen, he claimed that Kari had forced him into a relationship with her and that he remained with her “for fear that she might harm him.” In fact, many misfortunes had befallen those Kari quarreled with. Her neighbor, Anders Rasmussen, testified that his wife had given some scarves to Kari for repair. When his wife went to retrieve them, Kari insisted on payment first. The woman refused to pay and later fell ill. Rasmussen insisted that Kari had used witchcraft to punish his wife by causing her illness, saying that once she paid Kari, she was miraculously cured.

To obtain a confession, the court tortured Kari on the rack, eliciting a confession “at the height of her distress.” She confessed that, as a girl, while herding her animals, she was approached by a spirit appearing as a headless man. He offered her a ring of keys, saying, “If you accept these keys, all you wish to do in the world will come to pass.” Seeing no use for keys, she instead asked for a ribbon the spirit was holding. He gave it to her and with it, she received her powers. Her torturers pushed still further until she admitted that the spirit was really the devil, with whom she had made a pact. After her confession, no one came forward to defend her, and the jury quickly saw in her the trope of the lustful, vengeful witch. The innocent Sámi woman was convicted of witchcraft and executed by burning. In all, some dozen women had been convicted and burned for witchcraft before the end of the trials in 1621.

1651–53
The first wave of the Vardø witch trials had subsided by 1621, but the embers of fear and accusation smoldered on, ready to ignite again throughout the rest of the century. The next major outbreak of accusations flared up in the 1650s. In this second wave, the authorities’ focus shifted. They were now fixated on the supposed powers of witches to transform themselves and their ability to cause shipwrecks and drownings. Under relentless torture, each accused person was forced to confess not only to their own alleged crimes but also to implicate others as accomplices. The inquest records from this period are harrowing. They contain the confessions wrung from the accused, detailing their supposed transformations into witches and the gruesome accounts of their alleged deeds.

One such case was brought against Siri Christoffersdatter, who confessed under torture that her neighbor, Siri Pedersdatter, had come to her and asked for grain. When Christoffersdatter refused, Pedersdatter replied, “You shall pay dearly for that,” and demanded that Christoffersdatter drive away a cow standing outside. At that point, she “bade it go to the Devil, whereupon it burst asunder, and then the Devil immediately appeared in the likeness of a large man dressed in black, with horns. He called himself Jacob and asked her to promise to serve him, which she did.”

Having allegedly accepted this bargain, Siri Christoffersdatter moved on to a new home, where she said she taught witchcraft to Mari Tamisdatter, “passing it to her in a piece of flatbread… The Evil One appeared at once, this time, too, in the likeness of a large odd-looking man with claws, and they had to play cards with him, and the stake was to serve him, and they lost. However, he promised to procure them whatever they might need.” Siri then confessed that “eight days before last Christmas Eve she had been in the likeness of a raven with Kirsten Olsdatter, who has since been executed, Mette, Kenrik Pedersen’s wife, in the likeness of a seal, and Little Mari, in the likeness of a seagull, casting a spell on Laurits Olsen’s boat, as a result of which three people drowned.”

Having been accused by Siri, Mari Tamisdatter was then arrested and tortured until she confessed. Asked to relate her version of the story, she echoed Siri’s acount, saying, “in the summer of 1653, when she worked for Kristen Lauritsen, she was out in the peat marsh one day with the other women… And after a while, Siri asked her whether she wanted to learn witchcraft, and she said yes. So Siri immediately gave her a piece of bread which she ate, and when she had finished eating, she felt very strange, and the ground seemed to swirl and run around with her, and presently the Devil appeared in the likeness of a large, strange man, and he had long claws on his hands and feet, and he claimed she must serve him; whereupon she had to give him her hand at once and promise to serve him, in return for which he promised to procure clothes for her and whatever else she might need. Then and there he produced a [pack of] card[s], and they both had to play with him, and they both lost, in the sense that they both had to serve him… After that, at about five o’clock or so, they set off for home, and Satan again appeared in the same likeness, on top of the island, by the rim of stones, and he accompanied them to the next resting stone, telling her that she must now stay with him and serve him. She says that she had no truck with him after that, and caused no harm until eight days before last Christmas Eve… On that day, early in the morning, she was standing near Kristen Lauritsen’s animal shed, and the said Siri came to her, asking her to help cast a spell on her master… And the Evil One came to them in the very same apparel as last time and said they should do it, but the ones to suffer and drown were the people in Laurits Olsen’s boat, people with whom she had no quarrel. With them at the time was Mette, the wife of Henrik Pedersen… in the likeness of a seal, because she was angry with Larits Olsen. With them, too, were Kirsten Olsdatter and the said Siri.”

In March of 1655, Siri and Mari found themselves in the harrowing grip of the court, having confessed to witchcraft under duress. Yet, their ordeal was far from over. For two long months, they languished in uncertainty until they were finally summoned back to the court. When asked to repeat their confessions, both women courageously denied any knowledge of witchcraft. Despite the bailiff’s insistence on a final verdict, the court decided to defer the case, prolonging their agony.

Three weeks later, Siri and Mari stood before the court once more, steadfast in their denial of witchcraft. Again, the court chose to delay their sentencing, this time for an entire year, to allow the Court of Appeal to hear their case. Finally, on May 20, 1656, the two women faced their ultimate judgment. The Court of Appeal convicted them of witchcraft and sentenced them to beheading, sealing their fates and marking the tragic end of their struggle.

1662–53
The intensifying frenzy of persecution in the Vardø witch trials would peak in the winter of 1662 and ‘63, when 31 people were tried for witchcraft. Historian Liv Williumsen has described the nature of these seventeenth-century trials as “chains,” as each of the accused was coerced into naming accomplices, leading to further arrests and trials. This particular chain of trials was exceptional, however, for its use of torture with few to no limitations and the arrest and questioning of children. 

As with the 1620 trials, this chain began with a Sami woman. On September 2, 1662, Dorthe Lauritzdotter was brought in for questioning. Previously accused and acquitted in 1657, Dorthe now faced fresh allegations from Lauritz Braas, who claimed that two of his servants, recently deceased, had accused her of bewitching them. According to the charges, Dorthe, along with several other women transformed into birds, including a dove, an eagle, a crow, and a swan, had attempted to sink a boat by opening their “wind-knots” over the sea. However, the crew managed to foil the witches’ plot through fervent prayers to God. Even though no one died in the storm, Dorthe was burned at the stake alongside two other women.

The trials took an even darker turn, however, at Christmas, when the court began to arrest and question children. The court arrested Ingeborg and Karen Iversdatter, daughters of one of the executed women, and brought them in for questioning along with Maren Olsdatter, whose aunt had also been recently executed. Although these were children, demonological texts claimed that evil could be inherited, as authorities noted in Ingeborg’s trial record, writing “…since the evil spirit always was with them in the past, and they still could not get rid of him. No matter how diligently the pastors had admonished them, trying to convert them to the ways of our lord Jesus Christ, [the Devil] will not let go of them, since they have been sacrificed to him by their mother.”

During her interrogation on January 26, 1663, Ingeborg confessed to a fantastical tale. She recounted how she and Sølve Nilsdatter had celebrated Christmas of 1662 while imprisoned. According to her story, they transformed into cats and slipped under the gate to meet Maren Olsdatter and Sigri Klockare, who arrived by flying over the sea. The four then broke into a basement and indulged in wine until they were thoroughly drunk, with the Devil himself holding the candle for them. As the night wore on, the two adult women began to argue, and Sølve became so intoxicated that the Devil struggled to get her back to jail later that night. As Ingeborg tells it, “the argument was such that they fought each other in the cellar, so that Sigri knocked Solve to the ground, and from all that Solve had had to drink, she fell twice or thrice on the way back from whence the evil one had led them.”

During the January interrogations, Sølve Nilsdatter recounted a chilling tale of her own. She confessed that during Christmas of 1661, a massive witches’ sabbath occurred at Dovrefjell mountain in southern Norway. The witches, including herself, had arrived transformed into dogs and cats to revel and dance with the Devil, who had appeared in the guise of a black dog. As Margrette Jonsdotter danced with him, she lost her shoe, but the Devil kindly provided her with a new one.

The court then interrogated twelve-year-old Maren Olsdatter. Both Maren’s mother and aunt had been executed for witchcraft, placing the shadow of suspicion firmly on her. In her confession, Maren claimed she had visited Hell, guided by the Devil himself. Maren testified, “... when she got there she came to a very large lake where a fire was burning, and the water was boiling and lots of people were flat on their faces being boiled in the water. Whereupon the Devil blew fire out of an iron pipe he had with him, saying she would enjoy the same fate. The Devil also had a leg of ham which he dipped into the said lake so that it was cooked when he withdrew it.” Later, she described attending a witches’ sabbath, where the Devil played dancing music on a red violin, served the witches beer, and personally escorted each of them home.

As each girl confessed, the court pressured them to name others who had joined them. When the court asked Maren to name those present at the witches’ sabbath, she listed five women, including Ingeborg Krog, who she claimed had accompanied her to Hell in the form of a dove. Krog was subsequently brought in for questioning. Even under torture, Krog insisted on her innocence, confessing only that she had once eaten a fish offered by a woman executed for sorcery and speculated she might have consumed some magic then. Sølve Nilsdotter then accused Krog of being a witch like the rest of them, claiming she had caused a boat to get lost at sea. Krog maintained her innocence, even as she was tortured, responding, “I cannot lie about myself or others. Oh no, they can torment my body, but they cannot torment my soul.” Ultimately, Ingeborg Krog was tortured to death, and her corpse was left on an island opposite the gallows.

Instrumental in these trials was a woman named Anne Rhodius. A relatively learned woman, Anne and her husband had also been imprisoned on suspicion of witchcraft and were transferred to Vardø from southern Norway in 1662. While in prison, Anne coerced a number of women and girls into confessing to witchcraft by threatening them with torture. After recanting her confession, one woman told the court, “that if she has said such a thing, it would have been said from fear, for the magister Ane Rodi has told her that if you fail to confess what you can, then the executioner will torment you first in the water and then on the rack and with red hot tongs.” She even coerced the children into confessing and accusing others. One record relates that she, “took little Kirsten… upon her lap and asked her whether the Devil was not with her, to which Kirsten replied no. Then Ane Rodi asked Little Kirsten what was Sigrid’s god’s name, to which the child replied Isach, and then she again questioned little Kirsten, asking what mark was Sigri bearing, and little Kirsten said she knew not where her mark was, but her own mark was on her right arm. Yes, said Ane Rodi to Sigri, confess what you may, for then you will become a child of God, and my child as well. You shall be my little girl.”

After coaching from Anne, eight-year-old Karen Iversdatter claimed that three witches, in the form of crows, had attempted to assassinate an official with a needle. Maren accused a woman named Barbra from Vadsø, who for her part claimed that Maren had been influenced by Anne. Despite these claims, the court convicted Barbra and ordered her burned with four other women on April 8, 1663. That June, the last accused witches also claimed that Anne had influenced Maren and the other children to make their confessions and accusations. This time, the court listened. The three accused women were freed, and the children were acquitted.

Maren Olsdatter then stood before the judge of the Court of Appeals and revealed the troubling truth: Anne Rhodius had manipulated her into falsely accusing others of witchcraft. According to one document, the judge convicted Maren of perjury, ordering her to be sent to the workhouse in Bergen. However, this sentence was never recorded in the records of the Court of Appeals, and it appears it was never carried out. Meanwhile, Anne’s husband, Doctor Ambrosius Rhodius received a royal pardon on July 2, 1666. His wife was less fortunate. She remained in exile at the Vardø fortress in Finnmark until her death in 1672.

Conclusion
The rise of witch trials in seventeenth-century Europe resulted from of a complex interplay of religious, social, economic, and political factors. The religious upheaval of the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Counter-Reformation, and the resulting Wars of Religion led authorities to root out religious heterodoxies, especially in times of political and economic crisis. This, coupled with the rise of demonology and its belief that the Devil is an active force in the world, led to the belief that witches were real and actively attempting to overturn the political, social, economic, and religious order of the world. Throughout the 17th century, the remote region of Finnmark, Norway, was the site of approximately 140 witch trials, spanning from 1601 to 1692. Historian Rune Hagen considers this era one of the most severe peacetime persecutions in Norway’s history. Among those tried, 91 people were executed for witchcraft, and two died as a result of torture.

On June 23, 2011, Norway’s Queen Sonja inaugurated the Steilneset Memorial to the Victims of the Witch Trials in Vardø. Crafted by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor and French-American artist Louise Bourgeois, this poignant memorial honors the memory of those persecuted during the witch trials. The memorial itself is composed of two buildings. The first is a wood-and-fiberglass structure created to house Zumthor’s installation. The structure features 91 small windows through which a light can be seen, representing each of the executed. Bouregois’ installation, the last she would complete in her lifetime, is housed in a structure of steel and smoked glass. Inside sits a metal chair with flames projecting through its seat. Seven oval mirrors reflect the chair and flames, representing the judges surrounding their victims.

In her essay on the memorial, Donna Wheeler wrote, “The perpetual flame—that old chestnut of commemoration and reflection—here is devoid of any redemptive quality, illuminating only its own destructive image” and that Bourgeois’ piece creates “a transfer of fear and dread from historical document to the physical, to consciousness.”

Outro
If you enjoyed this episode, you can subscribe to Enchanted wherever you listen. This episode was produced by me with original music by Purple Planet. You can find them at purple dash planet dot com. If you want to learn more about the Vardø witch trials, be sure to check out the sources link in the show notes. Special thanks to Enchanted’s Patreon patrons for supporting the production of this and every episode. If you want to support Enchanted, please visit patreon dot com slash enchantedpodcast. If you’re looking for a way to support the show that won’t cost you anything, you can always give Enchanted: The History of Magic & Witchcraft a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen and recommend it to your friends. You can get in touch with me via email at enchantedpodcast at gmail dot com or follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr at enchantedpodcast. As always, for more information and special features, visit enchantedpodcast dot net. I’m Corinne Wieben. Thank you for listening and stay enchanted.