Material Traces of a Religious Trial : The Case of Ludwig Teschler

Abstract

In 1991, when a private house in Graz was to be sold, the owner asked her son and his wife to lend a hand in clearing the attic of the small house, a typical construction of the 1930s which had been built by her grandfather. Amongst the broken furniture, obsolete tableware, old books and rubble, all covered in layers of dust, the couple found a plastic bag containing about 70 sheets of paper, most of them damaged, most of them in an unreadable handwriting. The dates written on some of sheets aroused their interest: the years mentioned belonged largely to the 17th century. The material aspect of this collection is of particular interest. On the one hand, the analogue medium of pen and paper has been subject to various destructive factors, and information originally contained in the documents is irrecoverable; the find is also incomplete. On the other hand, the medium provides access to dimensions of the individuals who produced these records in ways that a digital entity could never provide, contributing to stories that unwind across the 136 pages, narratives that are not only interesting but also deeply touching. One of these stories is a fine example for this engagement: the case of Ludwig Teschler, an artisan accused of using witchcraft. Teschler was tried and sentenced. This article explores how the material quality of the documents helps us interpret the case.

Keywords

• teschler
• paris lodron
• widman
• amulet
• talisman
• haus im ennstal
• witchcraft
• superstition