Guilty Landscape. Strabrechtse Heide, Heeze, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands
On my way from Venlo to Amsterdam yesterday, we stopped off at Heeze in Noord-Brabant for a little birthday celebration. The host was kind enough to take me to Strabrechtse Heide, a beautiful heath just outside the village. I'd been here before but not when the heather was in flower. A marvellous scene and we weren't the only visitors: in the photo some landscape artists came to 'save' the view.
They probably weren't aware that not far away to the east southeast from where they were sketching there's the Hoenderboom. Once a notorius place for it was here that under the jurisdiction of cruel Erasmus van Grevenbroek, lord of Lierop and Zandvliet, in 1595 some 25 women and men were burnt at the stake for witchery. Most were apparently strangled - as a boon - before being burnt. But one 90-year old woman, Griet Mijnsheren, refused to admit to any guilt and she was burnt alive. The accusation against her was that a jar of 'baby fat' had been found on her premises. That fat was procured by cooking the bodies of unbaptised young boys (see inset image of 1608). It was used to concoct an ointment by which witches were said to be able to fly away to join a witches' sabbath. Try as I could, this tale stayed with me as I continued on to Amsterdam. Can a landscape be guilty?
Guilty Landscape. Strabrechtse Heide, Heeze, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands
On my way from Venlo to Amsterdam yesterday, we stopped off at Heeze in Noord-Brabant for a little birthday celebration. The host was kind enough to take me to Strabrechtse Heide, a beautiful heath just outside the village. I'd been here before but not when the heather was in flower. A marvellous scene and we weren't the only visitors: in the photo some landscape artists came to 'save' the view.
They probably weren't aware that not far away to the east southeast from where they were sketching there's the Hoenderboom. Once a notorius place for it was here that under the jurisdiction of cruel Erasmus van Grevenbroek, lord of Lierop and Zandvliet, in 1595 some 25 women and men were burnt at the stake for witchery. Most were apparently strangled - as a boon - before being burnt. But one 90-year old woman, Griet Mijnsheren, refused to admit to any guilt and she was burnt alive. The accusation against her was that a jar of 'baby fat' had been found on her premises. That fat was procured by cooking the bodies of unbaptised young boys (see inset image of 1608). It was used to concoct an ointment by which witches were said to be able to fly away to join a witches' sabbath. Try as I could, this tale stayed with me as I continued on to Amsterdam. Can a landscape be guilty?