Also known as "The Witch Hammer," The Malleus Maleficarum was a handbook for hunting and punishing witches-written by Inquisitors HEINRICH KRAMER (c. 1430-1505), an Alsatian clergyman, and JAMES SPRENGER (c. 1436-1494), a Swiss monk-to assist the Inquisition and Church in exterminating undesirables. Mostly a compilation of superstition and folklore, the book was taken very seriously at the time it was written in the 15th century and became a kind of spiritual law book used by judges to determine the guilt of the accused. While some of the articles covered in "The Witch Hammer" are humorous to modern audiences, they were a matter of life and death in the mid-1400's. Anyone interested in religion, the Inquisition, or the witch hunts that ravaged Europe will find this 1928 translation, by MONTAGUE SUMMERS (1880-1948), an unbelievable and enlightening read.

The Malleus Maleficarum is a seminal treatise regarding witchcraft and demons, presented here complete with an authoritative translation to modern English by Montague Summers. At the time this book was published in 1487, the Christian church had considered witchcraft a dangerous affront to the faith for many centuries. Executions of suspected witches were intermittent, and various explanations of behaviors deemed suspect were thought to be caused by possession, either by the devil or demon such as an incubus or succubus. Kramer wrote this book after he had tried and failed to have a woman executed for witchcraft. Unhappy at the verdict of the court, he authored the Malleus Maleficarum as a manual for other witch seekers to refer to. For centuries the text was used by Christians as a reference source on matters of demonology, although it was not used directly by the Inquisition who became notorious for their tortures and murders.

Full text of most important witchhunter's bible, used by both Catholics and Protestants.

The Malleus Maleficarum (Latin for "Hammer of the Witches," or "Der Hexenhammer" in German) is a famous treatise on witches, written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, and was first published in Germany in 1487. Jacob Sprenger is also often attributed as an author, but some scholars now believe that he became associated with the Malleus Maleficarum largely as a result of Kramer's wish to lend his book as much official authority as possible. In 1484 Kramer made one of the first attempts at a systematic persecution of witches in the region of Tyrol. It was not a success, Kramer was thrown out of the territory, and dismissed by the local bishop as a "senile old man." According to Diarmaid MacCulloch, writing the book was Kramer's act of self-justification and revenge. Some scholars have suggested that following the failed efforts in Tyrol, Kramer and Sprenger requested and received a papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus in 1484. It allegedly gave full papal approval for the Inquisition to prosecute witchcraft in general and for Kramer and Sprenger specifically. Malleus Maleficarum was written in 1484 or 1485 and the papal bull was included as part of the preface. The main purpose of the Malleus was to attempt to systematically refute arguments claiming that witchcraft does not exist, discredit those who expressed skepticism about its reality, to claim that witches were more often women than men, and to educate magistrates on the procedures that could find them out and convict them. Kramer was denounced by the Inquisition in 1490.

1928. We must approach this great work, admirable in spite of its trifling blemishes, with open minds and grave intent; if we duly consider the world of confusion, of Bolshevism, of anarchy and licentiousness all around today, it should be any easy task for us to picture the difficulties, the hideous dangers with which Henry Kramer and James Sprenger were called to combat and to cope; we must be prepared to discount certain plain faults, certain awkwardnesses, certain roughnesses and even severities; and then we shall be in a position to dispassionately and calmly to pronounce opinion upon the value and merit of this famous work.

The Malleus Maleficarum is a seminal treatise regarding witchcraft and demons, presented here complete with an authoritative translation to modern English by Montague Summers. At the time this book was published in 1487, the Christian church had considered witchcraft a dangerous affront to the faith for many centuries. Executions of suspected witches were intermittent, and various explanations of behaviors deemed suspect were thought to be caused by possession, either by the devil or demon such as an incubus or succubus. Kramer wrote this book after he had tried and failed to have a woman executed for witchcraft. Unhappy at the verdict of the court, he authored the Malleus Maleficarum as a manual for other witch seekers to refer to. For centuries the text was used by Christians as a reference source on matters of demonology, although it was not used directly by the Inquisition who became notorious for their tortures and murders.

This is a new release of the original 1928 edition.

This is a new release of the original 1928 edition.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ J. G. H. K. ... Dissertatio Epistolica De Scorbuto Johann Georg Heinrich Kramer

1928. We must approach this great work, admirable in spite of its trifling blemishes, with open minds and grave intent; if we duly consider the world of confusion, of Bolshevism, of anarchy and licentiousness all around today, it should be any easy task for us to picture the difficulties, the hideous dangers with which Henry Kramer and James Sprenger were called to combat and to cope; we must be prepared to discount certain plain faults, certain awkwardnesses, certain roughnesses and even severities; and then we shall be in a position to dispassionately and calmly to pronounce opinion upon the value and merit of this famous work.

The Malleus Maleficarum (Latin for "The Hammer of Witches") is a famous treatise on witches, written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, first published in Germany in 1487. Jacob Sprenger is also often attributed as an author.

1928. We must approach this great work, admirable in spite of its trifling blemishes, with open minds and grave intent; if we duly consider the world of confusion, of Bolshevism, of anarchy and licentiousness all around today, it should be any easy task for us to picture the difficulties, the hideous dangers with which Henry Kramer and James Sprenger were called to combat and to cope; we must be prepared to discount certain plain faults, certain awkwardnesses, certain roughnesses and even severities; and then we shall be in a position to dispassionately and calmly to pronounce opinion upon the value and merit of this famous work.

Also known as "The Witch Hammer," The Malleus Maleficarum was a handbook for hunting and punishing witches-written by Inquisitors HEINRICH KRAMER (c. 1430-1505), an Alsatian clergyman, and JAMES SPRENGER (c. 1436-1494), a Swiss monk-to assist the Inquisition and Church in exterminating undesirables. Mostly a compilation of superstition and folklore, the book was taken very seriously at the time it was written in the 15th century and became a kind of spiritual law book used by judges to determine the guilt of the accused. While some of the articles covered in "The Witch Hammer" are humorous to modern audiences, they were a matter of life and death in the mid-1400's. Anyone interested in religion, the Inquisition, or the witch hunts that ravaged Europe will find this 1928 translation, by MONTAGUE SUMMERS (1880-1948), an unbelievable and enlightening read.

We must approach this great work, admirable in spite of its trifling blemishes, with open minds and grave intent; if we duly consider the world of confusion, of Bolshevism, of anarchy and licentiousness all around today, it should be any easy task for us to picture the difficulties, the hideous dangers with which Henry Kramer and James Sprenger were called to combat and to cope; we must be prepared to discount certain plain faults, certain awkwardnesses, certain roughnesses and even severities; and then we shall be in a position to dispassionately and calmly to pronounce opinion upon the value and merit of this famous work.