The Malleus is the best known of the witch-hunting manuals. It was written in Latin by James Sprenger and Henry Kramer and submitted to the University of Cologne’s Faculty of Theology on May 9th, 1487. Although it was condemned, the book remained in use for 300 years. It had tremendous influence in the witch trials in England and on the continent.
Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger Write the Malleus Maleficarum
Little is known about the writers other than they were members of the Dominican Order and Inquisitors for the Catholic Church. It’s known that, in 1484, Kramer tried to persecute those believed to be practicing witchcraft in the Diocese of Trent. The local Ecclesiastical authorities tried to prevent this. Undaunted, Kramer requested the Pope’s support and seemingly received it by a Papal bull, a communication issued by the Pope Innocent VIII. He endorsed Kramer as an Inquisitor, not his methods of persecuting suspected witches. Later, when Kramer and Stenger wrote the Malleus, they used this endorsement as the preface to create the illusion the Pope approved of what was written in the book.
Malleus and Church’s Reaction
The Catholic Church had denied the “reality” of witchcraft in earlier centuries. The major purposes of the Malleus were to refute all arguments against the existence of the craft, to teach officials how to identify, interrogate and convict witches and to prove that witches were more often women than men. The book had a tremendous influence on the approach to witchcraft. What had been denied by the church became accepted as reality and dangerous heresy.
In 1490, the Catholic Church put the book on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, banning it. Despite this, the Malleus Maleficarum became the manual for witch-finders and Inquisitors throughout Europe in late Medieval times. In addition to the false impression the Pope endorsed the Malleus, Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in 1440 led to the widespread use of the book.
Travesty of the Malleus
The book detailed how to detect a witch. The methods included birthmarks, referred to as the witch’s mark, psychiatric disorders, growing and using herbs, eccentricity, having pet cats and living alone. Many were falsely accused because they weren’t liked or for the complainant’s monetary gain. Malleus specified canonical procedures and rules of evidence. The former advocated barbaric and cruel torture in order to obtain a confession. Thousands of people, mostly females, were legally murdered as a result of the procedures described in the Malleus.
Malleus - Augustus Montague Summers and Aleister Crowley
Summers was a self-styled Catholic priest, witch hunter and author. He is best known for his preface to and 1928 translation of the Malleus. He claimed to believe in witches, vampires and werewolves and wrote about all. He wrote that the book is a true and admirable account of witchcraft and about the methods used to fight it. Summers also wrote a book about the history of demonology and witchcraft. He believed that witches are real, evil, criminal and corrupt.
Summers was friends with Aleister Crowley who called himself the Great Beast of Revelation, 666, and the wickedest man alive. Does religion, like politics, make odd bedfellows? One has to wonder what Summers was about, condemning witches while having a relationship with a man who claimed to be an evil witch.
Articles Related to the Malleus
People who found the Malleus Maleficarum interesting might want to read:
Sources:
Dictionary of Witchcraft, David Pickering, (Cassel, 1996)
The Encyclopedia of Witches & Witchcraft, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, (Facts on File, Inc., 1999)
History of Witchcraft and Demonology, Montague Summers, (Carol Publishing Group, 1956)
Malleus Malecicarum, Montague Summers (Benjamin Blom, 1970)
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