MALLEUS MALEFICARUM, THE TREATISE THAT SPUR WITCH MANIA TO GO VIRAL IN EUROPE 

Did you know that between the years 1500 and 1660, up to 80,000 suspected witches were put to death in Europe?

The Malleus Maleficarum, usually translated as the Hammer of Witches, is the best known treatise on witchcraft written by the German Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinized name Henricus Institor) and first published in the German city of Speyer in 1486. The book has been described as the compendium of literature in demonology of the 15th century.

The Malleus elevates sorcery to the criminal status of heresy and recommends that secular courts prosecute it as such. The Malleus suggests torture to effectively obtain confessions and the death penalty as the only certain remedy against the evils of witchcraft. At the time of its publication, heretics were frequently sentenced to be burned alive at the stake and the Malleus encouraged the same treatment of witches. Despite its condemnation by the clergy, the book enjoyed a period of popularity among literate laymen.

Witches were perceived as evil beings by early Christians in Europe... The real history of witches, however, is dark and, often for the witches, deadly. Early witches were people who practiced witchcraft, using magic spells and calling upon spirits for help or to bring about change. Most witches were thought to be pagans doing the Devil’s work. Many, however, were simply natural healers or so-called “wise women” whose choice of profession was misunderstood.

It’s unclear exactly when witches came on the historical scene, but one of the earliest records of a witch is in the Bible, in the book of 1 Samuel, thought be written between 931 B.C. and 721 B.C. It tells the story of when King Saul sought the Witch of Endor to summon the dead prophet Samuel’s spirit to help him defeat the Philistine army. The witch roused Samuel, who then prophesied the death of Saul and his sons. The next day, according to the Bible, Saul’s sons died in battle, and Saul committed suicide. 

Other Old Testament verses condemn witches, such as the often-cited Exodus 22:18, which says, “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” Additional Biblical passages caution against divination, chanting or using witches to contact the dead.

Witch hysteria really took hold in Europe during the mid-1400s, when many accused witches confessed, often under torture, to a variety of wicked behaviors. Within a century, witch hunts were common and most of the accused were executed by burning at the stake or hanging. Single women, widows and other women on the margins of society were especially targeted.

Between the years 1500 and 1660, up to 80,000 suspected witches were put to death in Europe. Around 80 percent of them were women thought to be in cahoots with the Devil and filled with lust. Germany had the highest witchcraft execution rate, while Ireland had the lowest.

The publication of “Malleus Maleficarum" likely spurred witch mania to go viral. The book was essentially a guide on how to identify, hunt and interrogate witches. "Malleus Maleficarum" labeled witchcraft as heresy, and quickly became the authority for Protestants and Catholics trying to flush out witches living among them. For more than 100 years, the book sold more copies of any other book in Europe except the Bible.

Sources:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malleus_Maleficarum

https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-witches