The authors justified their harsh tactics because it was believed necessary to vigorously persecute witches in order to protect the pious and the innocent from the danger of the devil information in this table taken from Robbins , Guiley , and Kramer. One of the reasons the Malleus Maleficarum was so popular was because of the reputations of its authors:.
Jakob Sprenger approx prior and regent of studies of the Cologne Convent later became Dean of Cologne University - named provincial of the Province of Germany. Heinrich Kramer approx prior of the Dominican House in Schlettstadt in Lower Alsace - appointed inquisitor for several German provinces the Bishop of Brixen expelled him as inquisitor for using fraudulent tactics to convict witches. The Bull, whose intent was to quell Protestant objection to the Inquisition, was an important precedent to the Malleus Maleficarum , which was adopted as a witch hunting manual by both Catholics and Protestants in Germany, France, and Italy.
The Malleus Maleficarum "crystallized into a fiercely stringent code previous folklore about black magic with church dogma on heresy, and Part 1 discusses beliefs about witches and their practices Witches were thought to: completely renounce God and the Catholic faith have carnal relations with the Devil offered children as human sacrifices to the Devil Part 1 also discusses the Biblical and theological basis of witchcraft. This is especially evident in the work of King James I of England both in his own treatise the Daemonologie and in the case of Anne Gunter, in which James showed a particular interest.
Early modern witchcraft shifts away from the Malleus and develops the idea of possession, evident in the case of Anne Gunter, which is an entirely new concept never mentioned by Kramer. Other History Commons. To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately, you may Download the file to your hard drive. Advanced Search. The Malleus provided a clear explanation and solution to the tension surrounding witchcraft in the 15 th century during a socially uncertain time.
As I see it, the text is the apex and climax of the medieval witchcraft phenomenon. But what can be learned from the text itself? We can discover what the text tells us by separating the investigation into three sections.
Firstly, the nature of the accusations. Secondly, the trials. And finally, attitudes towards women. This shows how serious a threat witchcraft was perceived to be in late 15 th century Europe.
The Malleus claimed that witchcraft was the most abominable of all heresies, and gave four reasons as to why. They were the devotion of body and soul to evil, sexual relationships with incubi, the renunciation of the Christian faith, and the sacrifice of unbaptized infants to Satan.
Furthermore, the Malleus included many pathological fantasies, including a witch feeding oats to a nest of castrated male members. This shows the confusion and fear society had towards witchcraft. An example the Malleus provides for the mechanism in a maleficent operation is a witch milking a knife which she has thrust into a wall in order to steal milk. The three main elements in witchcraft were the evil-intentioned witch, the help of the devil, and the permission of god because god knows that without evil there is no good.
Witchcraft was therefore viewed as such a colossal sin because it was a direct treason against God. Furthermore, the Malleus gives an example of a witch doing nothing in a crime but digging a small hole, but she was still arrested as a witch. The Malleus even recommended a procedure which involved promising a witch mercy if her guilt was confessed.
This demonstrates how witches were doomed and disregarded by society from the moment they were accused, so serious was the crime.
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