In 1591, Georg Kress published a sensational broadsheet claiming 300 female werewolves (lycanthropes) had terrorized the Duchy of Jülich after a pact with the devil. Eighty‑85 were seized and burnt at the stake in Ostmilich on May 6, 1591. The woodcut depicts women bound to a pyre, reflecting the era's Inquisition and Reformation fears and a growing appetite for lurid "news".
The story follows the notorious Stubbe Peter (Peter Stumpp) case of 1589, where a peasant's brutal crimes—blood‑drinking, cannibalism, incest—were said to culminate in a brutal execution. No trial records exist for the Jülich women; the verses focus on a single confession implicating 24 others, casting doubt on the claim of 300.
Kress's broadsheet, now held at the Bavarian National Museum, seems designed to outdo earlier sensational reports, swapping a male cannibal for a pack of women who targeted tradesmen, livestock and horses, destabilizing the city's economy and morals. The unexplained execution of 85 women and the blend of folk motifs with alleged trial details illustrate how 16th‑century publishers fabricated diabolical lycanthropy for public consumption. The tale also reflects contemporary anxieties about gender, sexuality, and social disorder in the Holy Roman Empire.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing