The Malleus Maleficarum Read online

  It is beyond the scope of this article to adequately examine the role of the Malleus in world history, or its lasting effects. At the very least, The Malleus Maleficarum (The Witch Hammer) offers to us an intriguing glimpse into the Medieval mind, and perhaps gives us a taste of what it might have been like to have lived in those times.

  - Wicasta Lovelace

  Introduction to the eBook Edition

  Editing Parameters

  A Note on References

  Deleted Links

  Transcription vs. Scanning

  It was never my intention when setting out to transcribe the Malleus Maleficarum to write an introduction to the online edition. My intention was to simply transcribe the Malleus in its entirety, along with both the original 1928 introduction and the subsequent 1948 introduction (both written by the Rev. Montague Summers), along with the various ancillary material within the edition in my possession. But upon transcribing these introductions, I discovered that neither of them were very balanced or impartial. This could be expected, as the good Rev. Summers was, I believe, a Catholic priest and theologian. He was also apparently a member of the Dominican Order, the same order from which Henry Kramer and James Sprenger, the authors of the Malleus Maleficarum, were drawn. As such, Summers' point of view may not be exactly impartial, as is evidenced by the first line of his 1928 introduction

  “It has been recognized even from the very earliest of times, during the first gropings towards the essential conveniences of social decency and social order, that witchcraft is an evil thing, an enemy to light, an ally of the powers of darkness, disruption, and decay.”

  As Rev. Summers translated the Malleus Maleficarum into English, and wrote the Introductions, Biblography, and Notes of the edition which I have transcribed for online publication, one can understand his natural affinity for the work and, being Christian himself, he may be excused for being predisposed to certain prejudices. However understanding modern readers may be of Rev. Summers' prejudices, one cannot ignore the fact that both of his introductions to the Malleus seem more intent on validating the content of the work as an expression of contemporary religious truth rather than a work born of Medieval superstition. Indeed, one often expects the good Reverend to wax poetic about the good old days of the Inquisition, and times when those horrid witches really got what they deserved. There is left no doubt in the reader's mind that Rev. Summers not only believed in the existence of witches as the Medieval Church perceived them, but felt that the Inquisition, and the Malleus, were both justified and necessary. In both of his introductions (especially the original 1928 introduction), he seems more intent on using the occasion to convince us that the murder of thousands of innocent people, for the crime of witchcraft, during the Inquisition was somehow noble, and that the authors of the Malleus, Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, were visionaries of their time. One often finds the text of the introductions reading as if it had been written 500 years previously when the Malleus was originally published and the Inquisition was in full swing.

  I therefore felt it necessary to provide an alternate (and hopefully somewhat more balanced and objective) introduction. I will not discuss the relative merits of the Malleus, nor theorize as to whether or not the opinions and techniques discussed therein are valid. My interest in the work concerns its historical significance, in that whatever our opinions now, as the Dover Edition which I have transcribed expresses: “Even if you do not believe in witchcraft, the world of 1484 did.”

  It is with that in mind that I hope to approach and examine in this introduction the history of the Malleus Maleficarum, as well as its social impact upon its time (as well as on our time). And it is my hope that I may be somewhat more concise in my presentation than Rev. Summers. With that in mind, I will make every attempt to keep my own prejudices firmly in check.

  The date of the first edition of the Malleus Maleficarum cannot be determined with any real authority. It is, however, largely agreed that the most likely date of publication was in the year 1486. There were fourteen editions between 1487 and 1520, and at least sixteen editions between 1574 and 1669. There are modern translations as well: Der Hexenhammer, J.W.R. Schmidt, 1906, and an English translation (with introduction) by Montague Summers, published in 1928 and reprinted in 1948. The online edition of the Malleus is, of course, drawn from this latter edition. My copy is a reprint of this edition, which was first published in 1971 by Dover Publications and which is still in print today.

  When the Malleus was submitted to the University of Cologne by the authors on May 9th, 1487, it was officially approved by all of the Doctors of the Theological faculty. Due to the especial weight given to the book by the Bull of Pope Innocent VIII (given to Heinrich and Sprenger two years previously, authorizing them to continue the Inquisition in the Alps. It allegedly was included with the text of the Malleus to make it appear that the whole book enjoyed papal sanction) and the Official Letter of Approbation by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Cologne, the Malleus was immediately accepted as a work of importance. There is no doubt that it had, in its day, and for a couple of centuries afterwards, an enormous influence on contemporary society. It was continually quoted and appealed to in the witch-trials of Germany, France, Italy, and England. It remained in such use for over three hundred years.

  In the Malleus Maleficarum, contemporary cases illustrate methods by which witches attempt to control and subvert the world: How and why women roast their first-born male child; the confession of how to raise a tempest by a washwoman suspended “hardly clear of the ground” by her thumbs; methods of making a formal pact with the Devil; how witches deprive men of their “vital member”; and many others. Methods of destroying and curing witchcraft, such as remedies against incubus and succubus devils.

  Formal rules for initiating a process of justice were set down: how it should be conducted and the method of pronouncing sentence; when to use the trial by red-hot iron and other methods of torture for extracting confessions; how the body was to be shaved and searched for tokens and amulets of the Devil, including those sewn under the skin (often a birthmark, or a mole, or even freckles, were seen as a mark of Satan; indeed, nearly any blemish upon the skin could be interpreted as proof of a pact made with the Devil).

  As Rev. Montague Summers said in his 1928 introduction, the Malleus was the casebook on every magistrate's desk, and remained so, literally, for centuries. For that alone it has earned its dubious place in history, and should not be forgotten.

  This famous document should interest the historian, the student of witchcraft and the occult, and the psychologist who is interested in the medieval mind as it was confronted with various forces which could only be explained as witchcraft. With the rise of the Religious Right in America, and the ever-increasing intolerance of minority religions by radical Christians, the lessons contained in the Malleus Maleficarum are lessons which none of us can afford to forget. Because of the misconceptions and fears heaped upon minority religions by the Inquisition, which was fueled in part by the contents of the Malleus and the treatises set forth within it, the Malleus Maleficarum is as contemporary today as it was in its own time. We must remember those who suffered because of it. And perhaps, by our awareness, we can make certain that history does not repeat itself.

  Editing Parameters

  The full text of the Malleus Maleficarum as translated by Rev. Montague Summers has been preserved in this online edition. While there may have been occasional mis-types made during the transcription of the text, there are many instances where words are simply spelled differently than that which the modern reader is used to. An example of this is the spelling of pharoah as pharao, and the frequent spelling of fulfill as fulfil. There are man other examples of this sort within the text of the Malleus, and most of these will be evident by their frequent use.

  I have decided against editing these differences in spelling and diction, hoping instead to preserve the integrity of Rev. Summer's translation verbatum. I am confident th
at the modern reader can overlook these minor differences with little effort.

  A Note on References

  The reader will, no doubt, notice many strange references in the text of the Malleus Maleficarum. Many are simply references to the works of other scholars, such as Aristotle, St. Augustine, S. Thomas, etc. But on many occasions references are made to books of The Bible which may seem strange to most modern readers (at least to non-Catholic Christian denominations). Those readers whose familiarity with The Bible comes from the King James Version may be surprised by the references to these “obscure” books of The Bible, such as Paralipomenon, Apocalypse, Judith, and Tobias. These books were originally a part of The Bible, but were cut from the King James version as it was developed. They exist today primarily as a part of the Douay Rheims Version of The Bible, which is widely used by Catholics.

  Deleted Links

  Many long-time participants in this project will no doubt notice that the reference links have been removed, except for those to the notes of Rev. Summers which were a part of the version of the Malleus Maleficarum which is being transcribed. I had originally attempted to link all of the references made in the text to online editions where possible. However, this proved to be incredibly time consuming, both in coding the HTML links and in locating online editions. And for this reason the effort was abandoned.

  The primary focus concerning the transcription of the Malleus Maleficarum is now the text itself. It seems most important, given the interest generated by this project, that the text be posted as quickly as possible. Eliminating the links to the references, and the subsequent effort that entails, has allowed the transcribing of the text to proceed at a greatly accelerated pace. As such, the full text of the Malleus will be posted within a few months.

  The links to the references will still be installed, but subsequent to the complete transcription and posting of the text.

  Transcription vs. Scanning

  Many participants in this project have questioned my determination to transcribe the text of the Malleus Maleficarum by hand, as opposed to scanning the pages and using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to generate the text. While it is certain that the latter would prove more expedient and see the online edition posted much sooner, transcribing the text, while more labor intensive, ensures a more accurate translation to HTML format. While I understand that transcribing the text means it will take longer to post it, I believe that the more reliable translation is more than worth the additional effort.

  I apologize to anyone who is inconvenienced by this approach (those college students who wish to use the text of the Malleus as part of their thesis come to mind). However, I believe that the importance of the Malleus Maleficarum to modern readers, especially in a time when the rhetoric of the Religious Right grows stronger day by day (rhetoric which regards the occult, witchcraft, and even homosexuality, with an intolerance reminiscent of the Inquisition), overshadows any temporary inconvenience. I want this online edition to be as accurate a translation as possible, with mistakes and misprints limited to a minimum.

  In an age in which the Malleus Maleficarum could again achieve a relevance in the hands of radical Christian leaders, the accuracy of this online translation is, I believe, all-important.

  - Wicasta Lovelace

  December 15, 1998.

  Introduction to the 1928 Edition

  It has been recognized even from the very earliest times, during the first gropings towards the essential conveniences of social decency and social order, that witchcraft is an evil thing, an enemy to light, an ally of the powers of darkness, disruption, and decay. Sometimes, no doubt, primitive communities were obliged to tolerate the witch and her works owing to fear; in other words, witchcraft was a kind of blackmail; but directly Cities were able to to co-ordinate, and it became possible for Society to protect itself, precautions were taken and safeguards were instituted against this curse, this bane whose object seemed to blight all that was fair, all that was just and good, and that was well-appointed and honourable, in a word, whose aim proved to be set up on high the red standard of revolution; to overwhelm religion, existing order, and the comeliness of life in an abyss of anarchy, nihilism, and despair. In his great treatise De Ciutate Dei S. Augustine set forth the theory, or rather the living fact, of the two Cities, the City of God, and the opposing stronghold of all that is not for God, that is to say, of all that is against Him.

  This seems to be a natural truth which the inspired Doctor has so eloquently demonstrated in his mighty pages, and even before the era of Christianity men recognized the verity, and nations who had never heard the Divine command put into practice the obligation of the Mosaic maxim: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. (Vulgate: Maleficos non patieris uiuere. Douay: Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live. Exodus, xxii, 18.)

  It is true that both in the Greek and in the earlier Roman cults, worships often directly derived from secret and sombre sources, ancient gods, or rather demons, had their awful superstitions and their horrid rites, powers whom men dreaded but out of very terror placated; fanes men loathed but within whose shadowed portals they bent and bowed the knee perforce in trembling fear. Such deities were the Thracian Bendis, whose manifestation was heralded by the howling of her fierce black hounds, and Hecate the terrible QUeen of the realm of ghosts, as Euripides calls her, and the vampire Mormo and the dark Summanus who at midnight hurled loud thunderbolts and launched the deadly levin through the starless sky. Pliny tells us that the worship of this mysterious deity lasted long, and dogs with their puppies were sacrificed to him with atrocious cruelty, but S. Augustine says that in his day one could scarce find one within a while, that had heard, nay more, that had read so much as the name of Summanus (De Ciuitate Dei, iv, 23). Nevertheless there is only too much reason to believe that this devil-god had his votaries, although his liturgy was driven underground and his supplicants were obliged to assemble in remote and secret places. Towards the end of the fifth century, the Carthaginian Martianus Capella boldly declares that Summanus is none other than the lord of Hell, and he was writing, it may be remembered, only a few years before the birth of S. Benedict; some think that he was still alive when the Father of All Monks was born.

  Although in Greek States the prosecution of witches was rare, in large measure owing to the dread they inspired, yet cases were not unknown, for Theoris, a woman of Lemnos, who is denounced by Demosthenes, was publicly tried at Athens and burned for her necromancy. It is perhaps not impertinent to observe that many strange legends attached to the island of Lemnos, which is situated in the Aegaean Sea, nearly midway between Mt. Athos and the Hellespoint. It is one of the largest of the group, having an area of some 147 square miles. Lemnos was sacred to Hephaestus, who is said to have fallen here when hurled by Zeus from Olympus. The workshops of the Smith-God in ancient legend were supposed to be on the island, although recent geologists deny that this area was ever volcanic, and the fires which are spoken of as issuing from it must be considered gaseous. Later the officinae of Hephaestus were placed in Sicily and the Lipari Islands, particularly Hiera.

  The worship of Hephaestus in later days seems to have degenerated and to have been identified with some of the secret cults of the evil powers. This was probably due to his connexion with fire and also to his extreme ugliness, for he was frequently represented as a swarthy man of grim and forbidding aspect. It should further be noted that the old Italian deity Volcanus, with whom he was to be identified, is the god of destructive fire - fire considered in its rage and terror, as contrasted with fire which is a comfort to the human race, the kindly blaze on the hearth, domestic fire, presided over by the gracious lady Vesta. It is impossible not to think of the fall of Lucifer when one considers the legend of Hephaestus. Our Lord replied, when the disciples reported: Domine, etiam daemonia subiiciuntur nobis in nomine tuo (Lord, the devils also are subject to us in Thy Name), Uidebam Satanam sicut fulgur de coelo cadentem (I saw Satan like lightning falling from Heaven); and Isaias say
s: Quomodo cecidisti de coelo, Lucifer, qui mane oriebaris? Corruisti in terram qui uulnerabas gentes? (How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning? How art thou fallen to the earth, that didst wound the nations?) Milton also has the following poetic allusion:

  Nor was his name unheard or unador'd

  In Ancient Greece; and in Ausonian land

  Men called him Mulciber; and how he fell

  From Heav'n, they fabl'd, thrown by angry Jove

  Sheer o'er the Chrystal Battlements: from Morn

  To Noon he fell, from Noon to dewy Eve,

  A Summers day; and with the setting Sun

  Dropt from the Zenith like a falling Star,

  On Lemnos th' Ægæan Ile: thus they relate,

  Erring; for he with his rebellious rout

  Fell long before; nor aught avail'd him now