Stories about witches and stake in the Middle Ages are overgrown with myths, but the fact that the external families were supposedly paid for firewood sounds especially shocking. At first glance, this seems logical for the era, where justice was severe, and executions were a public performance. But let's, together with IA EAOMEDIA, will figure out whether there are confirmations of this practice and how things were with punishments for “witchcraft” in Europe.
In fact, witch's mass hunting did not begin in the Middle Ages, but later in the era of the early New Age (approximately from the end of the XV to the XVIII century). In the Middle Ages (V – XV centuries), accusations of witchcraft were rare, and the church often considered faith in witches superstition. The burning at the stake as punishment was used mainly to heretics, and not to the “witches”, and was common in regions such as Germany, France and Scotland, but more often in later periods. As for the fee for firewood, there are few direct evidence of this practice in the Middle Ages. There are mention that in some regions, especially in Germany, the XVI – XVII centuries, the family families could bear financial costs related to execution, including the payment of the executioner or materials for the fire. However, this was not a universal rule and depended on local laws and customs.
Why could such rumors appear? The executions in those days were not only a punishment, but also a way of demonstrating power, and sometimes earnings for local authorities. In some cases, especially during the period of mass “witch” processes (1550 – 1650), the courts confiscated the property of the accused, and the costs of execution could be assigned to their families. This created an additional financial burden, and rumors about the “fire fee” could be an exaggeration or part of folklore associated with the cruelty of those times.
