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Friedrich Spee [Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld; often incorrectly cited as Friedrich von Spee] was a German Jesuit priest, professor, and poet. On finishing his early education at Cologne, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1610, and pursued extensive studies and activity as a teacher at Trier, Fulda, Würzburg, Speyer, Worms and Mainz, where he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1622. He became professor at the University of Paderborn in 1624. From 1626 he taught at Speyer, Wesel, Trier and Cologne, and preached at Paderborn, Cologne and Hildesheim.
An attempt to assassinate Friedrich Spee was made at Peine in 1629. He resumed his activity as professor and priest at Paderborn and later at Cologne, and in 1633 removed to Trier. During the storming of the city by the imperial forces in March 1635 (in the Thirty Years' War), he distinguished himself in the care of the suffering, and died soon afterwards of a plague infection contracted while ministering to wounded soldiers in a hospital.
Friedrich Spee's literary activity was largely confined to the last years of his life, the details of which are relatively obscure. Two of his works were not published until after his death: Goldenes Tugendbuch (Golden Book of Virtues), a book of devotion highly prized by Leibniz, and Trutznachtigall (Rivaling the Nightingale), a collection of fifty to sixty sacred songs, which take a prominent place among religious lyrics of the 17th century and have been repeatedly printed and updated through the present.
Friedrich Spee is most noted as an opponent of trials for witchcraft. He was the first person in his time to present strong written and spoken arguments against torture, especially with regards to its unreliability in obtaining "truth" from someone undergoing painful questioning. His principal work, the Cautio Criminalis (Precautions for Prosecutors), is a layout for the prosecution of witchcraft, based on his own experiences in Westphalia. It is thought that he acted for a long time as "witch confessor" in Würzburg, as he seemed to have knowledge of what could be considered the private thoughts of the condemned. The book was printed in Latin in 1631 at Rinteln without Spee's name or permission. He did not advocate the immediate abolition of trials for witchcraft, but described with sarcasm the abuses in the prevailing legal proceedings, particularly the use of the rack. He demanded measures of reform, such as a new German imperial law on the subject, and liability to damages on the part of the judges. If these had been carried out, they would have quickly put an end to the mass persecution of suspected witches. Nevertheless, the Cautio Criminalis did bring about the abolition of witch-burning in a number of places, especially at Mainz, and led the way to its gradual suppression. The moral impact created by the publication was considerable. Even in the 17th century, a number of new editions and translations appeared. Among the members of Spee's Jesuit order, his treatise found a favourable reception. A memorable observation in the book suggested that Germany and England must have more witches and devils than Spain and Italy, since there were so many more stake burnings in the former. This may have been a not so subtle criticism of Protestant reform Europe, which he believed was guilty of even greater abuses than the Catholic countries. His book is still in print.
Friedrich Spee wrote the lyrics and tunes of dozens of hymns, and is still the most heavily attributed author in German Catholic hymnals today. Although an anonymous hymnist during his lifetime, today he is credited with several popular works including the Advent song "O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf", the Christmas carols "Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt" and "Zu Bethlehem geboren", and the Easter hymn "Lasst uns erfreuen" widely used with the 20th-century English texts "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" and "All Creatures of Our God and King". |
