The Witch trials in Denmark are poorly documented, with the exception of the region of Jylland in the 1609–1687 period. The most intense period in the Danish witchcraft persecutions was the great witch hunt of 1617–1625, when most executions took place, which was affected by a new witchcraft act introduced in 1617. History Legal situation Sorcery was first criminalized in Denmark in the county laws of Scania and Zealand from 1170, which followed the contemporary principle that magic was prohibited only in combination with murder, which was a common principle in other contemporary laws against sorcery in the Middle Ages. Whether anyone was executed in Denmark for sorcery during the Middle Ages is unknown due to lacking documentation. In the 16th century, the first known executions for witchcraft are documented in Denmark. The law had not changed, but the attitude toward witchcraft had become more strict as had the praxis of the law. In the Köbenhavnske recess from 1547 it was stated that a testimony from a criminal was not a legal ground for a death sentence, and that torture was prohibited prior to a guilty verdict. The Kalundborgske recess from 1576 forbade the enforcement of any execution issued by a local court until confirmed by the high court. The 1576 law had a moderating effect on the witchcraft persecutions in Denmark up until 1617. The Witchcraft Act of 1617 sorted sorcery crimes in two categories: those using magic without associating with the Devil should be exiled, while those who consorted with the Devil and who had made a pact with him should be executed by burning, regardless if they had performed magic or not. The witchcraft act of 1617 was in effect until 1686. The witch trials The Danish witch trials are not well documented. With some exceptions, such as the famous Copenhagen witch trial (1589) and the Køge Huskors (1608–1615), only the documentation of the region of Jylland from the period of 1609 to 1687 are preserved well enough to enable a proper investigation. Documentation of the witch trials in other parts of Denmark are preserved only partially or not at all. In 1530, two women, "the wives of Lars Kylling and Jørgen Olsen", were executed by burning for sorcery on Bornholm and thus the first documented executions for sorcery in present-day Denmark. However, the island of Bornholm was not Danish at that time, and the first witchcraft