Boszorkányság és bűnözés Szegeden a 18. század első felében
Witchcraft and Crime in Szeged in the First Half of the Eighteenth Century

Summary/Abstract: The legal and judicial context has traditionally been a key focus in witchcraft research due to the nature of the sources related to the question. However, it was only after the anthropological turn in historical studies that witchcraft trials began to be understood as criminal offences placed within their respective legal frameworks. Their frequency, sanctions, and evidentiary practices were studied in comparison to other crimes. Yet, these studies have revealed several methodological challenges, as witchcraft was considered a ‘composite’ crime in judicial terms, often occurring alongside other offences and encompassing a range of related acts. Hungarian research on the history of crime and criminology typically had only a marginal interest in witchcraft. Meanwhile, studies in historical anthropology and ethnography have largely explored the relationship between witchcraft and the community, rather than examining it as a crime, thereby only indirectly engaging with broader judicial processes.Most Hungarian witchcraft trials were similar to regular court activities, yet the occasional mass persecutions exerted a significant influence on judicial practice. A similar development occurred during the largest domestic witchcraft panic in Szeged, which resulted in 19 executions and involved approximately 200 defendants. In the court records examined in this paper (1714–1744, around 900 proceedings), cases concerning magic and witchcraft are relatively few (23 cases, c. 0.25%), yet they remain exemplary in certain respects, particularly regarding the imposition of penalties.This study starts with outlining the specific methodology and source environment of criminal law, followed by a brief overview of the legal context of urban jurisdiction and the personnel and institutional framework of the courts, illustrated with relevant legal cases. Also described are the general characteristics of crime in Szeged during the period under review, and a comparative analysis is offered with witchcraft-related offences, highlighting certain aspects (such as gender distribution, sentencing practices, and periodical variations etc.) in which this series of cases – and this rare but significant crime – may have played a notable role. In conclusion, the history of judicial practices concerning witchcraft is reviewed.

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