July 5, 2017 -
Oudewater, Holland - Let's just be clear, if I sat on a broom I'd crush it; there
would be no sailing about. But no matter, according to the executive director
of the Museum de Heksenwaag, also known as the Witches Museum.
From 1450 to 1650 it was a low place in
history because of the witch trials. Witches, don't you know, were
as light as a feather and able to fly.
Burning of witches was a real plague. A
rumor was enough to declare the accusation official, thus, thousands of people
were killed.
During the witch trials, if someone was
accused of being a witch, a “water test” was performed to prove whether or not
the accusation was valid. Examiners would throw a suspect with
tied hands and feet into the water. If the suspect sank, then innocence was
proven and she was dredged up and released.
If the 'witch' stayed afloat she was proven to work magic and
subsequently brought to court.
People from across
Europe and beyond flocked to Oudewater to be weighed and given a certificate
declaring they were not a witch.
It wasn't the scale in
Oudewater that was specifically spot on ....it was a matter of the person
manning the scale being honest.
I agreed to be weighed and tested. As the executive director, Jeanette Blake, said, "there was really no way to win."
Listen in when I say I'm
too fat to fly a broomstick and she comes back with the claim that I schmeared
boiled baby fat on the broomstick and that helped lift me off the ground.
Eventually I passed and
was given a certificate worth framing.
What an odd time... but
what a great museum. Hat tip to the hostess, Jeanette Blake; she was a great storyteller!
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