July 28, 2004

By Anne Bromley

Erik Midelfort might have an unusual topic of research, but it has gained him an international cult-like following. When the early German historian attended a June 29 meeting in Germany, he was given a “festschrift” by members of the Workshop for Interdisciplinary Witchcraft Research (Arbeitskreis Interdisziplinäre Hexenforschung), a group of colleagues that has been meeting and publishing proceedings since 1985.

A festschrift is a special volume edited by colleagues and students of a professor, comprising original papers on a relevant scholarly or scientific topic. At this meeting, Midelfort found out that several of the scholars regard themselves as members of the "Midelfortschule," the "School of Midelfort."

What is the subject of the "School of Midelfort?" Witchcraft — specifically the history of witchcraft and witchcraft trials in the German Southwest during the 16th and 17th centuries. It is only one of several psychosocial aspects from that period of early European history that Midelfort has delved into.

The book, “Wider alle Hexerei und Teufelswerk: Die europäische Hexenverfolgung und ihre Auswirkungen auf Südwestdeutschland” — or translated, "Against all Witchcraft and Work of the Devil: The European Witch Hunt and its Influence in Southwestern Germany” — is edited by Sönke Lorenz and Jürgen Michael Schmidt and dedicated to Midelfort.

“Erik Midelfort was a founding member of our Workshop,” write Lorenz and Schmidt, “and [he] has impressed our group from the very beginning with his extraordinary competence and his constantly helpful collegiality. …

“What characterizes modern witchcraft research after and because of Erik Midelfort is a grasp of the increased complexity of historical reality, the asking of new questions, and the readiness for discussion, a consciousness of one's methods, and a openness to new methods.”