Beschreibung
The year is 1686, and for the first time in over 30 years, witches have been burned in Denmark.
At the manor Rugaard, north of Ebeltoft, 41-year-old Jørgen Arenfeldt has initiated a large-scale witch hunt.
It all began when Jørgen Arenfeldt arrested Mette Nielsdatter (meaning daughter of Niels), who had escaped from the dungeon in Ebeltoft. During her interrogation at Rugaard, Mette Nielsdatter died, and she was subsequently burned at Hyllested Hills north of Ebeltoft.
This event ignited a holy fire in Arenfeldt, who then fully committed himself to the fight against the devil’s servants, the witches of Djursland.
Within a few months, Arenfeldt had several witches convicted, both in the local court and at the Court of Appeal in Viborg.
The punishment was almost always burning, as the law is clear:
“If any wizard or witch is found to have renounced God and their holy baptism and Christianity, and given themselves to the Devil, they should be cast alive into the fire and burned.”
Two weeks ago, he accused 28-year-old Anne Sørensdatter (daughter of Søren), also known as The Plum, who worked as a wise woman. She was subjected to the water trial, had her hands and feet bound together, and was thrown into the “witches’ lake” by Rugaard. She floated and was therefore accused of being a witch.
During the extrajudicial interrogations, she confessed and also implicated 15 others as witches.
Among them were Jens Rasmussen Laasbye, the mayor of Aarhus, Widow Ingeborg Laurids Bording at the manor Ryomgaard, and a tax collector in Grenå.
Additionally, two aldermen’s wives in Aarhus and several peasants and the poor in Djursland were also named as sorcerers.
You have now been asked to assist Christian V, King of Denmark and Norway, in dealing with the extensive witch accusations made by Arenfeldt.
One of the many accused is Mette Knudsdatter, who has neither money, influence, nor power, but despite intense interrogation, she maintains her innocence. She has even, in the presence of priests, accused Arenfeldt of having gone mad and seeing ghosts everywhere.
Mette Knudsdatter is now imprisoned in the dungeon beneath the Town Hall in Ebeltoft, awaiting her next interrogation.
Can you help prove her innocence so she can avoid the stake?
DURATION: 2–3 hours
DISTANCE: 2 km
DIFFICULTY: Medium
RECOMMENDED GROUP SIZE: 2-5
Your mission starts at:
The Old Town Hall
Juulsbakke 1
8400 Ebeltoft
