Malleus Maleficarum
Item
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Title
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Malleus Maleficarum
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Creator/author/artist of the original item
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Heinrich Kramer
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Date
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1486
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Description
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The practice of witch hunting was prominent throughout the 15th century, and by using the texts that were published during the time we are able to formulate a full understanding of this phenomenon. The Malleus Malleficarum is a text written in 1486 by a German Dominican Friar, Heinrich Kramer. He was authorized by the pope to hunt witches in southern Germany, and he did so with a heavy hand. After the time he spent torturing and executing women, he wrote Malleus Malleficarum, or, The Witches’ Hammer, commanding his audience to be wary of women and their propensity for witchcraft. According to Kramer, “all witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which in women is insatiable” (Wiesner-Hanks, 455). The thesis of Kramer’s Malleus Malleficarum claims that women alone have qualities that turn them to work with the devil. The misogyny throughout the witch hunt is especially prevalent in the search for a “witch’s mark” (Wiesner-Hanks, 460). Men would strip and shave the women, searching for a mark that proved that they had been touched by the devil. This clearly shows the practice of sexual assault that was common during these hunts, and how women were stripped of their agency and taken advantage of. Kramer explains other methods of torturing the accused witches such as “swimming” them. This practice involved throwing the woman into a body of water and watching to see if she sinks or floats, sinking (and drowning) meant she was innocent, while floating (and surviving, only to be executed later) meant she was a witch. (Wiesner-Hanks 459). Kramer’s publication was so influential not only because of the evocative messages throughout the book, but also because with the invention of the printing press, many people throughout Europe were able to read his guide to identifying and stopping witches. This quick spread of information led to a kind of mass hysteria and genuine fear of and belief in witches.
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Place
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Germany
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Source Citation
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Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. *Early Modern Europe, 1450–1789.* 3rd ed. Cambridge History of Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022. doi:10.1017/9781009160797.
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Rights / License
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Sprenger, Jakob, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
