The Witch of Cologne

anusim: Hebrew term for Jews forced to convert to Catholicism. (Anus: singular masculine; anusa: singular feminine.)

Ashkenazim: Jews of Eastern Europe and Germany.

auto-da-fé: The public declaration of the judgement passed on persons tried in the courts of the Spanish Inquisition, followed by the execution of the sentences imposed, including burning of heretics at the stake.

Ba’al Shem: An expert at calling up demons.

barras: A coarse linen fabric, sackcloth.

barvell: A thick leather apron worn by workmen and fishermen.

Beth Din: A rabbinical court with authority over communal ecclesiastical matters.

boarhound: Predecessor to the Great Dane, originally known as the English hound, a cross between a mastiff and an Irish greyhound. Bred specifically for boar hunting and popular in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The last record of the breed was 1860.

bombazine: A twilled fabric woven from silk and wool.

brith: The Jewish ritual of circumcision.

bruja: Spanish for ‘witch’.

bürgermeister: Mayor.

catalpha: A silk textile.

cheder: Jewish primary school.

cornet: Headdress in the shape of a coif, fitted at the back of the head with long flaps either side of the face.

damassin: Brocade or damask fabric with gold or silver patterns woven into it.

dornex: A fabric with a linen warp and wool weft, used for furnishings.

ducape: A heavy corded silk.

dybbuk: An evil spirit which has not been laid to rest.

ferrandine: A fabric made of silk and wool.

Gaffeln: Board of councillors particular to Cologne, made up of merchants from the city’s various guilds.

gehenna: A place where the wicked are punished after death (Hell).

golem: A giant man made from mud brought to life by supernatural means.

hep: Ancient cry from the Latin meaning ‘Jerusalem has fallen’. Still heard in pogroms in the seventeenth century.

Hevra Kadisha: Jewish society which looks after the burial of the dead.

hongreline: Thigh-length overcoat with flared skirt.

kammerhund: Chamber dog. An early breed of Great Dane favoured by the aristocracy.

kittel: A white garment worn on important religious occasions. Sometimes used as a burial shroud.

Lilith: The first wife of Adam. After being cast out of Eden she became queen of demons, seducer of men (conceiving her demon children through their nocturnal emissions) and killer of newborn babies by strangling them. Snwy, Snsnwy and Smnglf were the three angels sent by God to negotiate with Lilith when she was cast out of Eden. They threatened to kill a hundred of her sons every day unless she stopped strangling newborns. Lilith’s argument was that she had been created solely for this purpose but promised she would not harm a newborn if she should see the images of the three angels at the birthing, hence the use of the Three Angels amulet.

limpieza de sangre: Literally, ‘purity of blood’; a term used to signify freedom from Semitic blood.