The Malleus Maleficarum, [a] usually translated as the Hammer of Witches, [3][b] is the best known treatise about witchcraft. [6][7] It was written by the German Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinized name Henricus Institor) and first published in the German city of Speyer in 1486. Some characterize it as the compendium of preexisting demonological literature of the 15th ...
Malleus maleficarum (Hammer of Witches) is a detailed legal and theological document written in Germany c. 1486. It was regarded as the standard handbook on witchcraft, including its detection and deletion. It helped to incite witch-hunting during the early modern period in Europe.
The lasting effect of the Malleus upon the world can only be measured in the lives of the hundreds of thousands of men, women, and even children, who suffered, and died, at the hands of the Inquisitors during the Inquisition. At the height of its popularity, The Malleus Maleficarum was surpassed in public notoriety only by The Bible.
Malleus maleficarum by Kraemer, Heinrich, -1508 Publication date 1928 Topics Demonology, Witchcraft, Criminal law, Criminal procedure, Demonology, Witchcraft Publisher [London] : J. Rodker Collection wellcomelibrary; ukmhl; medicalheritagelibrary; europeanlibraries; medicallibrary Contributor Wellcome Library Language English; Latin Rights
A cruel and vicious text, the Malleus Maleficarum was a guide to persecuting those accused of witchcraft.
The Malleus Maleficarum [2] or Der Hexenhammer (Latin/German for "The Hammer of Witches") is arguably the most infamous medieval European treatise that focused on identifying, characterizing, and combating witchcraft. It was written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger with the explicit endorsement of Pope Innocent VIII, who desired "that all heretical depravity should be driven far ...