The New World Times

     The Malleus maleficarum, a nearly two hundred year old text, has sparked the hating of witchcraft among many groups of people ever since it was written. The Malleus maleficarum is also known as “The Witches Hammer” or “The Hammer of Witches.” In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII, pope of the Roman Catholic Church, published Summis Desiderantes, a document addressing the public on the subject of witches. Practicing witchcraft, he proclaimed, was officially the worst offense you could do to the church. From there on, all government and church officials were given orders to condemn any suspected witches to punishment and possibly death. Two monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, were assigned by Pope Innocent VIII to write the Malleus maleficarum, which would be a guide to witchcraft and handling witches, with the Summis Desiderantes as a preface. As soon as the public read it, they immediately caught on to the extreme witch-hating fire that was slowly enveloping all followers of the church. The instructions the book gave were clear: imprison and kill all witches.   

     Witchcraft has been considered evil by many religions since the first century A.D, and maybe even farther back. The Jews and the Christians both strongly agreed, even though they had their differences, that witchcraft was evil, because it meant following the devil instead of God. During the High Middle Ages (1000-1300 A.D.) witchcraft was still considered evil, but there were no witch-hunts to try to eliminate witches, and no enforced punishments for witches. During the Late Middle Ages (1300-1500) new leaders of the church began to administer punishment for all people believed to be practicing witchcraft. Towards the end of this time period was when Pope Innocent VIII wrote the Summis Desiderantes, and three years later, Kramer and Sprenger wrote the Malleus maleficarum. Throughout the entire first 1,500 years A.D. witchcraft was thoroughly disliked, but it wasn’t until this period of time was almost over that people really began taking extreme measures to wipe out witches.

     The authors of the Malleus maleficarum, Heinrich Kramer (sometimes known as Heinrich Institoris), and Jacob Sprenger, were well educated. Both were monks, but were also involved in university work. Heinrich Kramer was an impressive scholar, and hence one of the highest-ranked professors of theology at the University of Salzburg in Austria. Heinrich Kramer also was an inquisitor, meaning he tried to eliminate those whose beliefs went against the beliefs of the church, or tried to get them to change their beliefs to match the church’s. Jacob Sprenger was the Dean of Theology at the University of Cologne in Germany, previously also having been a theology professor. Both men, as you can see, were quite experienced in theology, which is the study of how God connects to the universe, and related religious studies.

     The fact that Kramer and Sprenger both knew a lot about theology was probably one of the main reasons that Pope Innocent VIII asked them to write the Malleus. The Malleus maleficarum is all about following God, and not following the devil and succumbing to evil. The Malleus maleficarum consisted of three parts. The first part explains why witches are so evil, females in particular, as females were considered weak and not as intelligent as men, therefore easier targets for the devil. This section also describes a huge rebellion that a group of witches was planning, and that all Christians should try to stop this evil revolution by killing and torturing anyone who seemed to be practicing witchcraft. This part of the book warns that witches will try to bewitch, attack, or maybe convert people to the devil’s side, so they had better watch out. The second part tells tales of the doings of witches: associations with the devil, shapeshifting, night riding, baby killing, and cannibalism. The third part describes the process of witch trials, and condemning witches. It explains how to find a witch, and that if you torture a witch she will confess. Once she confesses, if she is not already dead from the torture, the authorities should do the killing. Since witches were followers of the devil, they obviously should be tortured and killed to purify the community, says the Malleus maleficarum.

     The Malleus maleficarum gives many excuses for killing off witches based on the “fact” that women are weaker mentally and physically. Therefore it was believed that the devil could possess women easier than men, and any woman who was homeless, disrespectful, or too outspoken could be condemned as a witch because they weren’t being a  “traditional woman.” This idea was carried through the Malleus maleficarum all the way to the time of the Salem Witch Trials. It possibly could have influenced some people in Salem, or their elders who would then pass down the witch-hating message to their children. The stories could spread, and then many people in Salem would want to kill all women who they suspected of being witches because the messages of the Malleus maleficarum would always be lingering in the back of their minds, influencing their thoughts. The Malleus maleficarum could create extreme witch-hating feelings in people even a century or two after it was written, which demonstrates the powerful messages within it.