ABSTRACT
From the beginning of the period of witch trials, debates about demons drew on a new and remarkable source of evidence for the occult, invisible world of the dark fallen angels: the legally confirmed confessions of truth, made by convicted witches in their own voice, stabilized in trial records. This chapter outlines the interplay between demonology, witchcraft trials and confessions. It gives a short and incomplete introduction to the state of research and outlines the arrival of early modern political demonology. The chapter looks at the demonologists’ search for valid confessions. It also outlines the importance of legal manuals as well as the person of judges and notaries in the process of transmitting knowledge.
