The Bedevilment of Elizabeth Lorentz

"The accessibility of this edition is its greatest strength. It is exactly the kind of primary source edition for which instructors are continually searching. The content, style, length, and perhaps most importantly, price, are ideal for use in an undergraduate setting. Morton ends his introduction with a line describing a ‘conceptual world different from our own but inhabited by people very much like us,’ (lv) and The Bedevilment of Elizabeth Lorentz is a wonderful examination of exactly that."

Margaret Lewis, University of Tennessee at Martin, Early Modern Women, Spring 2020

"This short book is a major scholarly contribution to the ongoing fine-tuning of our understanding of the spiritual climate of the period, while at the same time ideal for classroom use."

Moshe Sluhovsky, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Medieval Review

"In The Bedevilment of Elizabeth Lorentz, Peter A. Morton and Barbara Dähms introduce readers to the momentarily extraordinary lives of the non-elite through a meticulously translated and contextualized 1667 court case from the Brunswick criminal court. The increasingly plaintive and conspicuous sighs of Lorentz, a recently hired young maid in the home of a Brunswick brewer, open her to questions from her concerned employers, and ultimately the perplexed members of the Brunswick court, about love, witchcraft, satanic pacts, possession, child murder, and mental health in this fascinating case."

Marjorie Elizabeth Plummer, The University of Arizona

"There is quite a lot to like about this brief text that will make it ideal for use in the classroom and give students an engaging introduction to a wide range of interesting and important issues in early modern society and culture. The clearly translated records of the trial encourage students to join with the efforts of witnesses and court officials to make sense of Elizabeth’s testimony while also providing them with an exceptional glimpse into the lives and thought of common folk. Peter Morton’s introductory remarks situate the trial documents in their necessary historical contexts—social, legal, and cultural—and in the process he successfully synthesizes an impressive range of recent historical scholarship. As students read and wrestle with how the actors in this drama framed and interpreted Elizabeth’s idiosyncratic performances, they will gain a unique and fascinating insight into the world of early modern Germany."

Hans Peter Broedel, University of North Dakota