This study focuses on the systematic linguistic analysis of stereotypical structures of statements on the topic of 'pact with the Devil' as they have been recorded in numerous extant records of early modern interrogations of women accused of witchcraft. Based on a supra-regional text corpus comprising more than 200 interrogation records, the statements of the accused are examined for standardisation tendencies and for characteristics of regional language usage; the findings are interpreted against the background of political, social and cultural historical references.

Autorentext

Iris Hille, Steinfurt.