Krystyna Ceynowa
Encyclopedia
Krystyna Ceynowa also spelled as Cejnowa, (d. 1836), was a Polish victim of murder
by lynching
and an alleged witch
. She was subjected to the ordeal
of water and drowned in Chałupy accused of sorcery
. She was among the last people in Europe
to be subjected to lynching
on the grounds of sorcery and witch craft.
of a fisherman
, living at Chałupy on the Hel Peninsula
(Polish: Mierzeja Helska), in Poland, at the time a Prussian province
.
She was regarded as suspicious by the community for various reasons, such as the fact that she was not a church-going person, which gave her a bad reputation in the eyes of the congregation: she never went to mass
, and it was said that black crow
s were attracted to her chimney
. People suspected that she was a witch. The authorities, however, were not willing to conduct a witch trial at this time.
, and she was subjected to the ordeal of water during an illegal trial. The ordeal took place in the Baltic Sea
and resulted in her death by drowning: reportedly, she died from the ordeal, or was actively drowned by the mob.
Her case exemplifies the fact that the belief in witch craft continued among the public long after the legal authorities stopped accepting the charges of witch craft, and that the public took the law in their own hands when they suspected witch craft even after the courts had stopped accepting such charges.
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
by lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
and an alleged witch
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. She was subjected to the ordeal
Ordeal
Ordeal may refer to* The American title of What Happened to the Corbetts, a 1939 novel by Nevil Shute* Trial by ordeal, the judicial practice...
of water and drowned in Chałupy accused of sorcery
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
. She was among the last people in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to be subjected to lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
on the grounds of sorcery and witch craft.
Background
Krystyna Ceynowa was the widowWidow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
of a fisherman
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
, living at Chałupy on the Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula |Nehrung]]) is a 35-km-long sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. It is located in Puck County of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.- Geography :...
(Polish: Mierzeja Helska), in Poland, at the time a Prussian province
Prussian partition
The Prussian partition refers to the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia.-History:...
.
She was regarded as suspicious by the community for various reasons, such as the fact that she was not a church-going person, which gave her a bad reputation in the eyes of the congregation: she never went to mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
, and it was said that black crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s were attracted to her chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
. People suspected that she was a witch. The authorities, however, were not willing to conduct a witch trial at this time.
The murder
She was taken captive by a lynchmob determined to test her to see if she was a witch. Her suppressors were called from SopotSopot
Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
, and she was subjected to the ordeal of water during an illegal trial. The ordeal took place in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
and resulted in her death by drowning: reportedly, she died from the ordeal, or was actively drowned by the mob.
Her case exemplifies the fact that the belief in witch craft continued among the public long after the legal authorities stopped accepting the charges of witch craft, and that the public took the law in their own hands when they suspected witch craft even after the courts had stopped accepting such charges.