The Witches of Vardo: THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER: 'Powerful, deeply moving' - Sunday Times

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Barbra from Vadsø was pointed out by Maren as one of those who had been flying with Dorthe on Domen. Barbra said that Maren had accused her, encouraged by doctor's wife Anne Rhodius, who had been exiled from Oslo to northern Norway with her husband because of conflicts in Oslo, and that the doctor and his wife had pointed out the wife and daughter of one of the members of the court as witches. This was ignored and Barbra was burned with four other women 8 April 1663. The Vardø witch trials ( Heksejakten i Vardø), which took place in Vardø in Finnmark in Northern Norway in 1621, was the first major witch trial of Northern Norway and one of the biggest witch trials in Scandinavia. [1] It was the first of the three big mass trials of Northern Norway, followed by the Vardø witch trials (1651–1653) and the Vardø witch trials (1662-1663), and one of the biggest witch trials in Norway. The first is the doctrine of demonology. Begun around the 1620s by a Scottish governor, demonology spread throughout Europe. Its influence in Vardo is best seen in the story of a learned couple from the south of Norway, Ambrosius Rhodius and Anne Friedrichsdatter Rhodius, who were imprisoned at Vardohus in 1662. Ambrosius was an astrologer and physician (the two believing to be complementary sciences), but he was considered politically dangerous because he predicted the result of an ongoing war (we’re guessing it wasn’t favorable). Anne was known for being outspoken, and got into a disagreement with the governor. Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Misogyny, Death of parent, Child death, Grief, Blood, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit The Steilneset Memorial, often called the “The Witches’ Memorial”, is a monument to 91 people who were burned as witches during the period of 1600 to 1692 in Vardø. The memorial consists of a building, designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, and the “Flammehuset” artwork featuring a sculpture by the Franco–American artist Louise Bourgeois. The witch trials were a European wide phenomenon

It became an obsession,” says Anya of her debut novel. “I was living in Norway for six years. I’ve always been interested in the history of witch trials and a Norwegian friend told me about the trials up in Vardø, this tiny island up above the Arctic Circle. Through the Sami characters, the story reveals not just the Sami culture and beliefs, but also the issues faced by indigenous tribes due to the external rulers. This was the best part of the book.The Witches of Vardo is inspired by the very real and terrible events of witch hunts which took place on the island of Vardo between 1662 and 1663. A total of twenty women died as a result of witchcraft persecutions between October 1662 and April 1663. Eighteen were burnt at the stake and two were tortured to death. The registers of sins cover the sins of poisoning food, casting spells on domesticated animals, causing disease and death amongst people and casting spells on people. Meetings with Satan and gatherings involving drinking, dancing and card games on Domen mountain outside Vardø were also frequent occurrences. One wonders what the mood was like in the small coastal villages of Finnmark during the 17th century, and what fear the people must have felt for the devil. Accusations were often made by neighbours. Most of those convicted were women, but some were men. Steilneset monument is found on Vardø

This book follows two characters - Anna, the former king's mistress sent to Vardo in disgrace, and Ingeborg, whose mother was accused of witchcraft. On 2 September 1662, Dorthe Lauritzdotter [12] [8] [13] was brought in for questioning at the Vardøhus fortress. She had been accused once before, but acquitted, in 1657. Lauritz Braas said that two of his servants, who had recently died, had claimed to be bewitched by her. Four witches led by Dorthe in the shape of a dove, an eagle, a crow and a swan were to have opened their "wind-knots" over the sea to make a boat sink, but the plot supposedly failed because the crew had prayed to God. Dorthe was burned at the stake on 6 November 1662 with two other women, soon followed by another two. I really think that when men have forced physical relations with maidens claiming ' The girl/women lured them into it because they were witches pissed by Devils charms'.... Those men should have been burned on stakes too! It enrages me to read such things and the more I read, I feel the lesser aware I was about the history of this world 🌎🌍Ingeborg sets off to Vardo on a quest to rescue her mother accompanied by wild natured and outspoken Maren (daughter of an accused witch) and friend Zare. Children were not immune from accusation and questioning. At Christmas, several children of previously executed women were brought in for questioning.