Archive | September, 2008

Britannica Occultism Article Excerpt

By on September 30, 2008 in Ancillary Text

In 1484 two Dominican friars, Heinrich Kraemer and Johann Sprenger, induced Pope Innocent VIII to issue a bull authorizing them to extirpate witchcraft in Germany; and two years later these two mean published the Malleus Maleficarum (The Witches’ Hammer), a work that became the authoritative encyclopaedia of demonology throughout Christendom. It was a synthesis of [...]

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Malleus Summation in Encyclopædia Britannica

By on September 30, 2008 in Ancillary Text

Malleus Maleficarm – detailed legal and theological document (c. 1486) regarded as the standard handbook on witchcraft, including its detection and its extirpation, until well into the 18th century. Its appearance did much to spur on and sustain some two centuries of witch-hunting hysteria in Europe. The Malleus was the work of two Dominicans: Johann [...]

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Introductory to the Online Edition updated

By on September 30, 2008 in Site Updates

Hello, all. I thought I’d mention that the introduction to the online edition of the Malleus Maleficarum has been updated. We’ve been trying to craft an introduction that is true to the history of the work, while specifically addressing some of the long-standing misconceptions about the work. Included below is the full text. I’d appreciate [...]

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