History Literature / MalleusMaleficarum

The ''Malleus Maleficarum'' (The Hammer of the Witches) is a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, and first published in Germany, where it is known as ''Der Hexenhammer'', in 1487. Jacob Sprenger's name is also attached to the book, though it is unclear if he did anything more than endorse it. The work also has an alleged approval and endorsement from a prestigious German university of the time, an endorsement that was very likely forged by Kramer. The book is [[StrawMisogynist virulently misogynistic]], though it acknowledges that both men and women can be witches. The book encouraged the use of torture to extract confessions in ways that were not actually legal under the laws of the Inquisition. The Inquisition actually discouraged the use of this manual by their witch-hunters, and three years after it was first published, the work was officially condemned by the Catholic Church, but that did not prevent laymen from using it.

The chief crimes witches are accused of in the ''Malleus Maleficarum'' are the working of evil magic and making a DealWithTheDevil in order to obtain this power. [[SarcasmMode Women are, of course, more susceptible to The Devil due to their more carnal nature.]] Oddly enough, some of the most frequent crimes these sex-crazed sirens are accused of is [[InsaneTrollLogic stealing men's penises and causing impotency.]] [[WouldHurtAChild Baby-killing]] and [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalism]] were also apparently popular witch practices, often [[EatsBabies together]].

Although some writers have claimed that the book was pretty much the cornerstone of a major anti-witchcraft movement and judges and priests all over Europe had a copy, and thus is associated with the image of the Inquisition being a torture-fest, it's DatedHistory and it is not regarded to be nearly as influential as once thought. Most theologians of Kramer's time condemned the book for recommending unethical and illegal procedures, and for being inconsistent with established Christian dogma on demonology, while the various Inquisitions had higher standards for evidence and ethics (the Inquisition established the modern [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisitorial_system Inquisitorial system]] used today) than the book proposed and witchcraft was never something they were especially interested in prosecuting, often maintaining a skepticism on whether witches even existed. In the Catholic Church, the prevalent view since AD 900 was that witchcraft was ''not'' real, that practitioners who were in the Church were instead heretics deluded by the Devil into believing they manifested arcane powers. Most punishments pre-''Malleus'' were light, either penances of a sort usually given in Confession for most sins, a spell in the city stocks, or at worst excommunication.

* EvilRedhead: "Those whose hair is red, of a certain peculiar shade, are unmistakably vampires." This was a common belief then, along with redheads being werewolves.

* ImAHumanitarian: Cannibalism is described as a popular witch practice.

* WidowWitch: [[ValuesDissonance Perhaps she fell into witchcraft because she lacked a husband's guidance]], or perhaps she was the one who did him in.

* WidowWitch: [[ValuesDissonance Perhaps she fell into witchcraft because she lacked a husband's guidance]], or perhaps [[BlackWidow she was the one who did him in]].

* WidowWitch: [[ValuesDissonance Perhaps she fell into witchcraft because she lacked a husband's guidance]], or perhaps she was the one who did him in.

The chief crimes witches are accused of in the ''Malleus Maleficarum'' are the working of evil magic and making a DealWithTheDevil in order to obtain this power. [[SarcasmMode Women are, of course, more susceptible to The Devil due to their more carnal nature.]] Oddly enough, some of the most frequent crimes these sex-crazed sirens are accused of is [[InsaneTrollLogic stealing men's penises and causing impotency.]] [[WouldHurtAChild Baby-killing]] and [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalism]] were also apparently popular witch practices, often together.

** ScienceMarchesOn: Anyone with a high school education would know why the result would be a completely human baby, not a half demon (they would probably say a supernatural influence took place).[[note]]Of course, when the "Witch's Hammer" was written, Gregor Mendel's work was nearly 400 years into the future.[[/note]]

* KnightTemplar: Encouraged this behavior.

** ScienceMarchesOn: Anyone with a High-School education would know why the result would be a completely human baby, not a half demon (of course, they would probably say a supernatural influence took place). [[note]] Of course, when the "Witch's Hammer" was written, Gregor Mendel's work was nearly 400 years into the future. [[/note]]

* WilliamTelling: Contains a story very similar to Myth/WilliamTell. Punker, Puncker, or Puncher of Rohrbach in the Upper Rhineland is said to have been ordered by "a very eminent person" in about 1430 to prove his extraordinary marksmanship (regarded by Kramer as a sign of consorting with the devil) by shooting a penny off the cap on his young son's head without disturbing the cap. Like William Tell, he too kept a second arrow in reserve to kill the eminent person who ordered it in case he failed.
* WindmillCrusader: What most modern Westerners would call the witch-hunters. Also to a great extent, what the Catholic Church of the time called them.

Although some writers have claimed that the book was pretty much the cornerstone of a major anti-witchcraft movement and judges and priests all over Europe had a copy, and thus is associated with the image of the Inquisition being a torture-fest, it's DatedHistory and it is not regarded to be nearly as influential as once thought. Most theologians of Kramer's time condemned the book for recommending unethical and illegal procedures, and for being inconsistent with established Christian dogma on demonology, while the various Inquisitions had higher standards for evidence and ethics (the Inquisition established the modern [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisitorial_system Inquisitorial system]] used today) than the book proposed and witchcraft was never something they were especially interested in prosecuting, often maintaining a skepticism on whether witches even existed. In the Catholic Church, the prevalent view since AD 900 was that witchcraft was ''not'' real, that practitioners who were in the Church were instead heretics deluded by the Devil into believing they manifested arcane powers. Most punishments, pre-''Malleus'' were light, either penances of a sort usually given in Confession for most sins, a spell in the city stocks, or at worst excommunication.

* TheVamp: Pretty much every female witch, apparently. Possibly just [[AllWomenAreLustful every female]] in general; [[WriterOnBoard Kramer was a rampant misogynist]].

The ''Malleus Maleficarum'' (The Hammer of the Witches) is a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, and first published in Germany, where it is known as ''Der Hexenhammer'', in 1487. Jacob Sprenger's name is also attached to the book, though it is unclear if he did anything more than endorse it. The work also has an alleged approval and endorsement from a prestigious German university of the time, an endorsement that was very likely forged by Kramer. The book is [[StrawMisogynist virulently misogynistic]], though it acknowledges that both men and women can be witches. The book encouraged the use of torture to extract confessions in ways that were not actually legal under the laws of the Inquisition. the Inquisition actually discouraged the use of this manual by their witch-hunters, and three years after it was first published, the work was officially condemned by the Catholic Church, but that did not prevent laymen from using it.

The ''Malleus Maleficarum'' (The Hammer of the Witches) is a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, and first published in Germany, where it is known as ''Der Hexenhammer'', in 1487. Jacob Sprenger's name is also attached to the book, though it is unclear if he did anything more than endorse it. The work also has an alleged approval and endorsement from a prestigious German university of the time, an endorsement that was very likely forged by Kramer. The book is virulently misogynistic, though it acknowledges that both men and women can be witches. The book encouraged the use of torture to extract confessions in ways that were not actually legal under the laws of the Inquisition. the Inquisition actually discouraged the use of this manual by their witch-hunters, and three years after it was first published, the work was officially condemned by the Catholic Church, but that did not prevent laymen from using it.

** ScienceMarchesOn: Anyone with a High-School education would know why the result would be a completely human baby, not a half demon (of course, they would probably say a supernatural influence took place).

* TheVamp: Pretty much every female witch, apparently. Possibly just [[AllWomenAreLustful every female]] in general; [[AuthorOnBoard Kramer was a rampant misogynist]].

* HornyDevils

Although some writers have claimed that the book was pretty much the cornerstone of a major anti-witchcraft movement and judges and priests all over Europe had a copy, and thus is associated with the image of the Inquisition being a torture-fest, HistoryMarchesOn and it is not regarded to be nearly as influential as once thought. Most theologians of Kramer's time condemned the book for recommending unethical and illegal procedures, and for being inconsistent with established Christian dogma on demonology, while the various Inquisitions had higher standards for evidence and ethics (the Inquisition established the modern [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisitorial_system Inquisitorial system]] used today) than the book proposed and witchcraft was never something they were especially interested in prosecuting, often maintaining a skepticism on whether witches even existed. In the Catholic Church, the prevalent view since AD 900 was that witchcraft was ''not'' real, that practitioners who were in the Church were instead heretics deluded by the Devil into believing they manifested arcane powers. Most punishments, pre-''Malleus'' were light, either penances of a sort usually given in Confession for most sins, a spell in the city stocks, or at worst excommunication.

* [[WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk While We Have Ways Of Making You Talk, Kramer Goes Way Beyond What We Find Necessary Or Appropriate]]: The Inquisition's standards for what was permissible when using torture were ''much'' higher than Kramer's. They understood that torture could result in false confessions, so the length of time in which torture was permitted was limited, and confessions made under torture were not valid unless confirmed after the torture had ceased. If the confession was retracted, it was not permissible to recommence the torture.

* WilliamTelling: Contains a story very similar to WilliamTell. Punker, Puncker, or Puncher of Rohrbach in the Upper Rhineland is said to have been ordered by "a very eminent person" in about 1430 to prove his extraordinary marksmanship (regarded by Kramer as a sign of consorting with the devil) by shooting a penny off the cap on his young son's head without disturbing the cap. Like William Tell, he too kept a second arrow in reserve to kill the eminent person who ordered it in case he failed.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: The Inquisition's standards for what was permissible when using torture were higher than Kramer's. They understood that torture could result in false confessions, so the length of time in which torture was permitted was limited, and confessions made under torture were not valid unless confirmed after the torture had ceased. If the confession was retracted, it was not permissible to recommence the torture.

* WindmillCrusader: What most modern Westerners would call the witch-hunters.

The ''Malleus Maleficarum'' (The Hammer of the Witches) is a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, and first published in Germany, where it is known as ''Der Hexenhammer'', in 1487. Jacob Sprenger's name is also attached to the book, though it is unclear if he did anything more than endorse it. The work also has an alleged approval and endorsement from a prestigious German university of the time, an endorsement that was very likely forged by Kramer. The book is virulently misogynistic, though it acknowledges that both men and women can be witches. The book encouraged the use of torture to extract confessions in ways that were not actually legal under the laws of the Inquisition. The book's original endorsement was probably forged; the Inquisition actually discouraged the use of this manual by their witch-hunters, but that did not prevent laymen from using it.

The ''Malleus Maleficarum'' (The Hammer of the Witches) is a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, and first published in Germany, where it is known as ''Der Hexenhammer'', in 1487. Jacob Sprenger's name is also attached to the book, though it is unclear if he did anything more than endorse it. The book is virulently misogynistic, though it acknowledges that both men and women can be witches. The book encouraged the use of torture to extract confessions in ways that were not actually legal under the laws of the Inquisition. The book's original endorsement was probably forged; the Inquisition actually discouraged the use of this manual by their witch-hunters, but that did not prevent laymen from using it.

Although some writers have claimed that the book was pretty much the cornerstone of a major anti-witchcraft movement and judges and priests all over Europe had a copy, and thus is associated with the image of the Inquisition being a torture-fest, HistoryMarchesOn and it is not regarded to be nearly as influential as once thought. Most theologians of Kramer's time condemned the book for recommending unethical and illegal procedures, and for being inconsistent with established Christian dogma on demonology, while the various Inquisitions had higher standards for evidence and ethics (the Inquisition established the modern [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisitorial_system Inquisitorial system]] used today) than the book proposed and witchcraft was never something they were especially interested in prosecuting, often maintaining a skepticism on whether witches even existed.

The chief crimes witches are accused of in the ''Malleus Maleficarum'' are the working of evil magic and making a DealWithTheDevil in order to obtain this power. [[SarcasmMode Women are, of course, more susceptible to The Devil due to their more carnal nature.]] Oddly enough, some of the most frequent crimes these sex-crazed sirens are accused of is [[InsaneTrollLogic stealing men's penises and causing impotency.]] [[InfantImmortality Baby-killing]] and [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalism]] were also apparently popular witch practices, often together.

* EvilRedhead: "Those whose hair is red, of a certain peculiar shade, are unmistakably vampires."

* ATorturedIndex: How to get a "confession" out of someone.

* TortureTropes: How to get a "confession" out of someone.