The discussion is follwed by a reception, during which the book can be bought and dedicated.

Participation 25 € p.p. Registration form.

The speakers

Frederic Vermeulen (1974) is full professor of economics at KU Leuven and winner of the Francqui Prize in 2019. In the search for his family history, he discovered his relationship with Tanneke Sconyncx, his great (x9) grandmother.

Dick Harrison (1966) is professor of history at Lund University, Sweden. He writes articles, blogs, novels and non-fiction books and makes TV documentaries about European and Swedish history.
 

The books

The witch of Gottem. The true story of Tanneke Sconyncx

Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, thousands of women and men were wrongly accused of witchcraft. Tanneke Sconyncx was one of them. This is her story.

The Spanish Netherlands, late sixteenth century. These are tough times for the people of Gottem. The troops of Philip of Spain and the advancing Calvinist armies devoured the small towns and villages, religious disputes split the small village communities in two and the plague reared its ugly head. The emptying countryside and the collapsed flax industry are in malaise.

The headstrong, young Tanneke is on the threshold of a new life when she marries the wealthy farmer's son Thomas. But it is also becoming increasingly difficult for them to manage the family farm. And when a dismissed servant spreads the gossip that Tanneke is a witch, they really get into trouble.

In a world run by men, without any defense or protection from any higher authority, Tanneke tries to prove her innocence in a trial that seems to have already been conducted in advance.

Witch hunt. A history of fear, repression and misogyny

In 'Witch Hunt', the Swedish historian Dick Harrison describes the major witch trials and witchcraft persecutions in Europe since ancient times. He pays extra attention to the persecutions in Western Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The image of 'the witch' had terrible consequences for countless innocent women. They were exiled, smeared, accused, abused, convicted and murdered. Sometimes because they were seen as strange or dangerous, often just because they were 'different' from established society. Understanding these events requires an understanding of the spirit of the times. Dick Harrison sheds light on the cultural and political circumstances that led to the belief and persecution of witches and witchcraft and explains how in all these cases many women proved to be the ideal scapegoat.

Harrison edited the original Swedish edition especially for Dutch-speaking readers with numerous examples from the Netherlands and Belgium.