THE LEGEND OF THE WITCH: Narrating Between Judicial Archive and Folk Tradition
(2026)

Starting point for this study is Elisabeth Pfluger’s book Solothurner
Sagen (1972). While these legends reveal certain parallels to documented witch trials, they also convey a distorted representation of the individuals involved. This thesis examines the transformation
of early modern witch trial records from the canton of Solothurn
into folkloric narratives. Drawing on judicial archival documents
and confessions, this study explores the processes through which
traumatic collective memory was reshaped into oral narratives. At
the intersection of archival theory and cultural memory research,
the work examines the gaps and silences inherent in judicial sources
and explores how critical fabulation can restore marginalized
voices. The analysis shows that the Solothurn witch legends did
not simply obscure historical events, but actively negotiated social
fears, gender dynamics, and communal identity across generations.
This work contributes to broader debates on the relationship between historical trauma, archival practice, and the cultural afterlife
of persecution.