
The Poem On The cask
Being the first calvinistic pastor of the parochy of the wine
producing community of Dittelsheim
Anton Praetorius visited nearby Heidelberg, the centre of
Calvin´s theology in Germany.
Impressed by the huge wine barrel in the Heidelberg castle he wrote a poem in 1595 praising the barrel as an apparent proof for the superiority of the calvinistic belief: Vas Heidelbergense (Poem on the 1. Great Wine Barrel in the Castle of Heidelberg)
Two years later Anton Praetorius had to witness the torture of 4 women accused of witchcraft in the town of Birstein. He was so appalled that he wrote the book "Gründlicher Bericht über Zauberey und Zauberer" (Thorough Report about Witchcraft and Witches) to protest against the use of the torture and the prosecution of witches. Read about the search for Hypatia it's related.



