No. 110/2019

31 HUMBOLDT KOSMOS 110/2019 Photo: Humboldt Foundation/Jörg Scheibe. IllustrationS: Raufeld Medien/Nastasja Schäfer ality, achieves this by habitually anchoring her three major topics – the Reformation, the history of gender and global history – in German regions and examining micro-his- torical developments in the context of the larger picture. KEPLER’S MOTHER WAS IN DANGER OF BEING BURNT AT THE STAKE Rublack’s study of the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler and the time in which he lived exemplifies her approach. In 1615, Kepler’s widowed mother, Katharina Kepler, was accused of witchcraft and taken to court. The accusations were made by influential neighbours in Leonberg, Würt- temberg, who said she was responsible for cases of illness in their families. Katharina, who at 68 had reached what was considered a grand old age at the time, was in danger of being burnt at the stake. This was taking place all over the country: between 1580 and 1650 alone, 25,000 people were executed in this way in the Holy Roman Empire, most of them elderly women. As the case against Katharina Kepler dragged on, even her children turned against her – only her eldest son supported her. Johannes Kepler “ PRINCES FILLED THEIR CABINETS OF CURIOSITIES WITH CORALS, CRYSTALS AND CURIOS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.” THE HISTORIAN ULINKA RUBLACK at work in Wolfenbüttel ›