The Myth of Red-Haired Witches

There are many myths surrounding the Inquisition or the witch hunts, and one in particular concerns having red hair or unusual eye color. According to this idea, in the Middle Ages (or modern times) during the persecution of witches, one of the supposed traits that unequivocally revealed the evil nature of the accused was having the characteristics mentioned above. However, this is a modern myth with no historical basis.

Redheads and Witchcraft

I tried to trace the origins of this myth — that is, the cause behind this popular belief — but I couldn’t really find it. Some suggest that it stems from the infamous book “Malleus Maleficarum”, a manual written by the Dominican friars Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, which (among other things) purported to dictate procedures for inquisitors and judges on how to detect witches, how to interrogate them (including the use of torture), how to conduct the trial, and how to execute them. However, despite the nonsense that may have been written there, there is no mention whatsoever that red hair is a criterion to be considered when accusing a witch. Even so, I have come across many people who claim this, but searching through the available copies of said manual, one finds nothing.

Regardless, it is a fact that this belief took hold in our times and spread like wildfire, along with many other myths on the subject. Proof of this can be found in a plethora of articles, blogs, videos, and, of course, online comments, where it is categorically stated that if one was a redhead in the Middle Ages — and if one was a woman — one would definitely end up at the stake. However, this is completely lacking in historical evidence. Upon reviewing sources on inquisitorial criteria, there is no mention whatsoever of red hair as a factor to consider in determining guilt, though it is true that certain physical characteristics were analyzed for that purpose.

One specific physical characteristic sought was the “mark of the Devil,” considered proof of a demonic pact. In some cases, judges and judicial authorities looked for these signs by inspecting the bodies of the accused. It was believed that these marks could be protrusions such as pimples or warts, dark moles, birthmarks, unexplained scars, extra nipples, areas of numb skin, lumps, strange calluses, deep dimples, small holes in the skin, or any other visible physical deformity. But no source mentions hair color as a distinguishing feature.

But even if it had been, it would not have been decisive, since this practice of searching for physical markers was neither universal nor uniform; it depended on the jurisdiction, the local context, and the court conducting the trial (in many cases, not the central Inquisition but local civil or ecclesiastical courts, etc.). Furthermore, although these “demonic marks” could be considered “evidence,” they were not sufficient on their own for a formal conviction; they were usually combined with confessions, accusations, testimonies, and other evidence (often coerced).

In my research, I came across a single possible example of a woman accused of witchcraft with red hair: Anne de Chantraine, a young Belgian woman accused and executed during the 17th-century witch hunts. Various websites and illustrations describe her as a beautiful young woman with red hair; however, I have not found any reliable (primary) sources to confirm this. The most comprehensive source is the work “Anne de Chantraine ou la Naissance d’une ombre” by Gaston Compère, but unfortunately it is not freely accessible, and no online source has provided any primary or academic references beyond this work. It is most likely a simple popular depiction that emerged after her execution, but even if that were the case, it was certainly not a cause for her accusation and death.

Others also cite Alice Kyteler, an Irish noblewoman known for being the first recorded person in Ireland convicted of witchcraft (and also one of the earliest documented cases in Europe) in the 14th century. She was apparently denounced by a rejected lover and by neighbors who linked her to occult practices. She was accused of attending a witches’ sabbath, making a pact with the devil, and using magic to harm others — you know, the usual tropes surrounding this phenomenon. In online searches, this woman always appears with red hair, but again, there is no evidence in the sources to confirm that she actually had that hair color.

More than red hair, the women who were persecuted or accused of witchcraft were often characterized as being older, illiterate, and socially marginalized, as they were a highly vulnerable group.

A painting depicting Alice Kyteler by the American artist Paddy Shaw. She is portrayed with fiery red hair, which was often interpreted as a sign that she was a witch; however, this is an artistic license and not a depiction based on historical sources.

45,000 redheads burned as witches

There are several articles and blog posts that discuss an alleged execution of 45,000 red-haired women accused of witchcraft in 15th-century Germany. Well, obviously, there are no primary or academic sources to support such a claim. First of all, there is no exact figure for the total number of people executed; some estimates put the total at between 40,000 and 60,000 people (mostly women, but also including men), but the key point is that this figure refers to the total for all of Europe, not just Germany. This, combined with the fact that there is no mention whatsoever in judicial documents of the characteristic of having red hair. Now, I just hope no one comes along with the typical argument that “there are no records because the church burned them” — except, of course, for the fact that if that were true, we wouldn’t have the thousands of documents that historians around the world have examined, which discuss the Inquisition and its proceedings in detail.

Excerpts from websites that categorically stated that redheaded women were executed for witchcraft.

This article claims that “the vast majority” of those executed witches were redheads, but it does not offer any primary or academic historical sources to support such a claim.

Discrimination against redheads

Despite all of the above, there does appear to be solid evidence that, in the Middle Ages and the early modern period, there was a certain degree of hostility toward people with this distinctive hair color. For example, we have a passage from “The Proverbs of Alfred” (12th/13th centuries), which is a collection of precepts of good conduct supposedly spoken by King Alfred the Great of England, although the historical consensus concludes that they were not actually written by him. The passage reads:

“Dear son of mine, choose never for thy mate a little man, or long, or red, if thou wilt do after my rede.”

***(Proverbs of Alfred, XXXIV, ed. Kemble, The Dialogue of Salomon and Saturnus, 1848, p. 247)***

“The red man is a rogue, for he will advise thee ill; he is quarrelsome, a thief and whoreling, a scold, of mischief he is king. I do not say for all that that many are not gentlemen. Through this lore and gentility he amended a great company.”

***(Proverbs of Alfred, XXXVII, ed. Kemble, The Dialogue of Salomon and Saturnus, 1848, p. 248)***

Another example can be found in Ruodlieb, an 11th-century Latin chivalric romance, whose author is believed to have been a monk from the Abbey of Tegernsee in Bavaria.

“Never count a redhead as a close friend. If he gets angry, he forgets all about loyalty, for a fierce and terrible rage lingers within him. He is not so good that there is no deceit in him, which you cannot avoid without getting yourself dirty in the process; for once you touch the tar, you will hardly ever be able to clean yourself completely.”

***Ruodlieb, Fragment V, vv. 451–456 (ed. Edwin H. Zeydel, Ruodlieb: The Earliest Courtly Novel (after 1050), 1959, pp. 72–73)***

The Christian stance

In addition to popular belief, the church (or at least a certain segment of it) apparently did not hold people with this hair color in high regard either. The origin of this apparently relates to Judas Iscariot, who in many works of medieval and early Renaissance art was depicted with reddish hair. This was likely to associate him with elements such as the devil, hellish spirits, hell itself, betrayal, lust, and anger. The reason for this may stem from the desire to negatively represent or associate Judaism, since apparently some Jewish groups, such as the Ashkenazim, had this characteristic in their hair. So, aside from the previously established aesthetic prejudices, there was likely an anti-Semitic connotation associated with red hair.

A painting by Caspar Isenmann (1410–1472) titled “Colmar Altarpiece (The Arrest of Jesus),” in which Judas is depicted with red hair.

We also find another example of this prejudice in a text from St. Jerome’s epistles, which served as moral and spiritual manuals explaining how an ideal Christian should behave, how to raise children, and how to live a virtuous life.

“Let her dress and attire remind her of the One to whom she is betrothed. Do not pierce her ears or paint her face — which is consecrated to Christ — with white lead or rouge. Do not hang gold or pearls around her neck, nor fill her head with jewels, nor make her think of the fire of Gehenna by dyeing her hair red.”

St. Jerome, Epistle 107 (to Laeta)

Discrimination and systematic persecution?

Given the above, can we say for certain that Christians or the Church in general discriminated against redheads? Not necessarily. This is because negative references to this group are anecdotal; there aren’t enough sources to claim that this was widespread. In fact, returning to the subject of Judas, he wasn’t always depicted with the now-familiar hair color either.

But this is not limited to Christianity; despite what was stated earlier, there is no evidence that discrimination was widespread throughout European society, across all communities, or in all contexts. It would be very hasty to reach this conclusion based on a few sources, especially if they are not a 100% reliable reflection of the thinking of the average person. To give an example: it’s as if, 1,000 years from now, someone were to find a book mentioning that blonde women are “dumb and brainless,” and historians or people from that period were to conclude, based on that, that in the 21st century there was strong discrimination against this group — which is obviously not the case.

But even if there had truly been widespread prejudice against red hair, this would never have escalated to systematic persecution or public executions — or at least we have no evidence of it — much less evidence that witches were accused of having this particular trait.

Eye color

Another modern belief is that having different-colored eyes — or, more specifically, heterochromia — was also seen as an unmistakable sign of someone who practiced witchcraft; however, once again, there is no evidence in the sources to support this claim.

Conclusion

This article does not seek to deny the gravity of the Inquisition. It is undeniable that there was a systematic persecution and execution of many innocent women, and often the criteria for prosecution could be completely irrational by modern standards. Although depending on the region and context, in some places there was a procedural rigor similar to the modern judicial system, where many defendants were acquitted due to lack of evidence, but of course, in other regions this was unfortunately not the case, and many paid the price. Even so, what I aim to demonstrate is that being a redhead did not pose any danger in and of itself, unless one was Jewish or belonged to some marginalized class — characteristics that were indeed taken into account.

Bibliography

• Ruodlieb: The Earliest Courtly Novel (after 1050) Edwin Hermann Zeydel
• The Principal Works of St. Jerome (NPNF Series II, Vol. 6) — Philip Schaff (1886)
• Outcasts: Otherness in Medieval Northern European Art — Ruth Mellinkoff
• Red: A History of the Redhead — Jacky Colliss Harvey
• The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe — Brian Levack
• La caza de brujas en Europa en los siglos XVI y XVII — Rubén Albéniz Luquin
• Inquisición Procesos criminales y de fe — Sánchez Fonseca Irene
• Las fuentes del proceso inquisitorial — Manuela Fernández Rodríguez
• The Dialogue of Salomon and Saturnus, with an Historical Introduction (1848) — John Mitchell Kemble