Próba zimnej wody (pławienie) w oskarżeniach i procesach o czary w państwie polsko-litewskim w XVI–XVIII wieku

Abstract

This paper focuses on recapitulating the current state of knowledge on the use of cold water ordeal in witchcraft trials in the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Early Modern Period. The ordeal, despite being banned by the Catholic Church in 1215, was still in use, which is confirmed by the trials carried out in Lithuania at the turn of the 16th century. It can therefore be concluded that in the 16th century, the cold water ordeal in witchcraft trials started to be used in the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth much earlier than in Western European countries. Nonetheless, there was no single policy defining at which stage of the trial the ordeal should be applied. In consequence, it was carried out either before the official start of the trial or during the proceedings. There were also many regional differences. While the cold water ordeal was used relatively often in Greater Poland and Royal Prussia, the case files known to today’s researchers seem to prove that the situation was rather different in Lesser Poland. While the belief spread by Bohdan Baranowski pointed to women being subjected to the ordeal while fully clothed, information found in source materials and old prints unequivocally shows that the accused were stripped naked before the ordeal.