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ABSTRACT
This article is a reflection upon the impact of the author’s use of archival material at Steilneset Memorial in Finnmark, Northern Norway, a Memorial commemorating the victims of the Finnmark witchcraft trials, 1600–1692. Its aim is twofold: First, to illustrate how the original court records were used to bring the history of the witchcraft trials into the public space today at Steilneset Memorial. This part will focus on the personal approach taken in surfacing the voices of those accused during the trials. Second, to discuss Steilneset Memorial and its content as a catalyst for historical interpretation and for bridging the gap between the painful history of the 17th century and the present day. Such a discussion will focus first on my own historical interpretation and then the responses of others to the Memorial, before reflecting on the extent to which the historical content of a memorial can display connections over centuries and communicate this to visitors of today.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Willumsen, Seventeenth-Century Witchcraft Trials, 246–248.
2. Goodare, The European Witch-Hunt, 23; Levack, The Witch-Hunt, 23.
3. Willumsen, Witches of the North, 3–10.
4. Willumsen, ‘A Witchcraft Triangle,’ 247–264; Willumsen, ‘Oral Transfer,’ 47–83.
5. Næss, Trolldomsprosessene i Norge, 16–17; Hagen, Dei europeiske trolldomsprosessane, 92.
6. Willumsen, Witches of the North, 240.
7. Willumsen, Steilneset: Memorial to the Victims, 1–101.
8. Willumsen, Witches of the North, 224.
9. Hansen and Olsen, Samenes historie fram til 1750, 18–51; Hætta, Samene. Historie, kultur, samfunn, 12–38.
10. Willumsen, Steilneset. Memorial to the Victims, 11–101. Translated into English by Katjana Edwardsen.
11. Willumsen, The Voices of Women, 3–5.
12. Willumsen, Trolldomsprosessene i Finnmark. Et kildeskrift; Willumsen, Witchcraft trials in Finnmark, Northern Norway. Translated into English by Katjana Edwardsen.
13. Næss, For rett og rettferdighet i 400 år.
14. Næss, Fiat justitia!
15. Willumsen, Steilneset: Memorial to the Victims, 4–5.
16. Hedstrom, ‘Archives, Memory, and Interfaces’, 25.
17. Hagen and Sparboe: Hans H. Lilienskiold. Lilienskiold’s original document is kept in The Royal Library, Copenhagen.
18. The Finnmark District Accounts are kept in Riksarkivet, The National Archives, Oslo.
19. Willumsen, Steilneset: Memorial to the Victims, 93.
20. Willumsen, Witches of the North, 241.
21. Willumsen, Witches of the North, 233.
22. Willumsen, Steilneset: Memorial to the Victims, 4.
23. Ødemark, “Cultural Difference,” 193.
24. Ødemark, “Cultural Difference,” 194.
25. Ødemark, “Cultural Difference,” 194.
26. Ødemark, “Cultural Difference,” 188.
27. Brattland, “Towards New Northern Heritages,” 231–243.
28. Brattland, “Towards New Northern Heritages,” 237.
29. Willumsen, Steilneset: Memorial to the Victims, 40.
30. Hagen, The Sami — Sorcerers in Norwegian History.
31. Willumsen, Steilneset: Memorial to the Victims, 101.
32. Brattland, “Towards New Northern Heritages,” 234.
33. Willumsen, “The Witchcraft trials against Anders Poulsen,” 139–160.
34. Brattland, “Towards New Northern Heritages,” 239.
35. The Norwegian title: De Samiske Samlinger.
36. Brattland, “Towards New Northern Heritages,” 237.
37. Foote, “To Remember and Forget,” 379.
38. Arvesen, “Formildende omstendigheter,” 9.
39. In Norwegian: ‘For meg handler det kanskje mer om en følelse for ofrene.’ Bulie, ‘Stjernearkitekt i Sauda,’ Dagens Næringsliv, 8 August 2019.
40. In Norwegian: ‘Du kan ikke være emosjonell når det gjelder historiske fakta.’ Bulie, ‘Stjernearkitekt i Sauda,’ Dagens Næringsliv, 8 August 2019.
41. In Norwegian: ‘Jeg liker arkitektur som opprettholder en dialog med stedets historie. Det kan være en kritisk dialog. Det handler ikke om å kopiere former eller noe sånt. Det er et følelsesmessig forhold, antar jeg. Mange ganger har det også med medfølelse å gjøre — eller glede.’ Bulie, ‘Stjernearkitekt i Sauda,’ Dagens Næringsliv, 8 August 2019.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Liv Helene Willumsen
Liv Helene Willumsen is Professor Emerita of History, University of Tromsø (UiT The Arctic University of Norway). She has a PhD in history from the University of Edinburgh: Seventeenth-Century Witchcraft Trials in Scotland and Northern Norway (2008). Her books include Witches of the North: Scotland and Finnmark (Leiden: Brill, 2013) and The Voices of Women in Witchcraft Trials: Northern Europe (Abingdon: Routledge, 2022). In 2019 she was awarded the Norwegian King’s Medal of Merit.