translated by Montague Summers

The Compendium Maleficarum was the ultimate field guide for the beginning demonologist in the 17th century. Guazzo's Compendium was accepted by his contemporaries as the authoritative manuscript on witchcraft. Later demonologists continued to hail the conciseness and clarity with which Guazzo analyzes the practice. The Compendium not only gives an organized account of the subject matter but provides a glimpse at the Christian view of witchcraft during the early 17th century.

The post Compendium Maleficarum – Francesco Maria Guazzo appeared first on The Malleus Maleficarum.

The Malleus Maleficarum is the most famous early modern text on witches and witch hunting. Often known as the 'Hammer of Witches', the Malleus consists of a demonstration of the existence of witchcraft and a discussion of both the practice of witchcraft and cures for the injuries caused by it, together with a recommended method of exterminating it judicially. It was republished twenty-six times in the early modern period, and remained a standard text on witchcraft for centuries. This fully annotated edition is based on the first edition of 1486-7 and presents the Latin text together with a full textual apparatus. The extensive introduction discusses the authorship, method of composition, and intellectual background of the work. The second volume provides an accurate English translation, together with detailed explanatory notes. This important edition makes this vital text accessible to historians of the period and offers extraordinary insights into the attitudes and prejudices inspired by the fear of witches.

The post Malleus Maleficarum, 2 Volume Set – Christopher Mackay appeared first on The Malleus Maleficarum.

by Christopher Mackay

The Malleus Maleficarum, first published in 1486-7, is the standard medieval text on witchcraft and it remained in print throughout the early modern period. Its descriptions of the evil acts of witches and the ways to exterminate them continue to contribute to our knowledge of early modern law, religion and society. Mackay's highly acclaimed translation, based on his extensive research and detailed analysis of the Latin text, is the only complete English version available, and the most reliable. Now available in a single volume, this key text is at last accessible to students and scholars of medieval history and literature. With detailed explanatory notes and a guide to further reading, this volume offers a unique insight into the fifteenth-century mind and its sense of sin, punishment and retribution.

The post The Hammer of Witches – Christopher Mackay appeared first on The Malleus Maleficarum.

by Keinrich Kramer & James Sprenger translated by Montague Summers edited by Wicasta Lovelace

The "Malleus Maleficarum" (Latin for “The Hammer of Witches”, or “Hexenhammer” in German) is one of the most famous medieval treatises on witches. It was written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, and was first published in Germany in 1487.

The post The Malleus Maleficarum – (Our Kindle Edition) appeared first on The Malleus Maleficarum.

by Heinrich Kramer & James Sprenger translated by Montague Summers 

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 post The Malleus Maleficarum – Cosimo Edition appeared first on The Malleus Maleficarum.

The Malleus Maleficarum is one of the best-known treatises dealing with the problem of what to do with witches. The only previous translation into English, that by Montague Summers produced in 1928, is full of inaccuracies, is written in a style nowadays almost unreadable, and is unfortunately colored by his personal agenda. This edited translation, with an introductory essay setting witchcraft, Institoris, and the Malleus into clear, readable English, corrects Summers's mistakes and offers a lean, unvarnished version of what Institoris actually wrote. It will undoubtedly become the standard translation of this important and controversial late-medieval text.

The post The Malleus Maleficarum – P. G. Maxwell-Stuart appeared first on The Malleus Maleficarum.

by Heinrich Kramer & James Sprenger translated by Montague Summers

Full text of most important witchhunter's "bible," used by both Catholics and Protestants. First published in 1486, the book includes everything known at the time about cults, illicit sex, dealings with the devil, and more.

The post The Malleus Maleficarum – Rev. Montague Summers appeared first on The Malleus Maleficarum.

What was witchcraft? Were witches real? How should witches be identified? How should they be judged? Towards the end of the middle ages these were new questions, without answers hallowed by time and authority. Between 1430 and 1500, a number of learned "witch-theorists" attempted to provide the answers, and of these perhaps the most famous are the Dominican inquisitors Heinrich Institoris and Jacob Sprenger, the authors of the Malleus Maleficarum, The Hammer of Witches. This, the first book-length study of the Malleus in English, provides students and scholars with an introduction to this text and to the conceptual world of its authors. Ultimately, this book argues that although the Malleus was a highly idiosyncratic text, with a view of witches very different from that of competing authors, its arguments were powerfully compelling and so remained influential long after alternatives were forgotten.

The post The Malleus Maleficarum and the Construction of Witchcraft – Hans Peter Broedel appeared first on The Malleus Maleficarum.