The Malleus Maleficarum

by P.G. Maxwell-Stuart

The Malleus Maleficarum is one of the best-known treatises dealing with the problem of what to do with witches. It was written in 1487 by a Dominican inquisitor, Heinrich Institoris, following his failure to prosecute a number of women for witchcraft, it is in many ways a highly personal document, full of frustration at official complacency in the face of a spiritual threat, as well as being a practical guide for law-officers who have to deal with a cunning, dangerous enemy. Combining theological discussion, illustrative anecdotes, and useful advice for those involved in suppressing witchcraft, its influence on witchcraft studies has been extensive. The only previous translation into English, that by Montague Summers produced in 1928, is full of inaccuracies. It is written in a style almost unreadable nowadays, and is unfortunately coloured by his personal agenda. This new edited translation, with an introductory essay setting witchcraft, Institoris, and the Malleus into clear, readable English, corrects Summers’ mistakes and offers a lean, unvarnished version of what Institoris actually wrote. It will undoubtedly become the standard translation of this important and controversial late-medieval text.

Genres: History

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2007

About the author

Peter G. Maxwell-Stuart is a Research Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Aberdeen and an Honorary Lecturer in the Department of History in the University of St. Andrews.

Source: Macmillan

Reviews

[Carla Bull · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for the WONDERFUL introduction and translation. A beautifully presented version of what is without a doubt the most paranoid, bizarre, and downright evil pile of garbage I've ever had the displeasure of reading.

[Frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously all bullshit, but fascinating, especially the multiple entries about how to ward off penis stealing (with violence).

[4ndy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The introductory historical points for media influence analysis of the book, towards actual impact in Holy Inquisitorial practices, was exactly what I wanted to know.
Will drop at 12% until I find interest in reading further again. =)

Point in case, this paranoid part essay-manual, influenced majorly only German demonology. The ambience in which it was used and critiqued had many other authors and publications regarding witchcraft at the time, for their own purposes of clergical advancement (e.g. Dominicans vs Franciscans) at the expense of medieval concepts of theology and gender physiology/psychology.

[Christopher Nilssen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was mentioned in Margaret Alice Murray’s The God Of The Witches, and I was surprised to find a copy sitting on the university stacks. P.G. Maxwell-Stuart’s translation is excellent, though it did take me a while to get used to the format, much in the same way my long-ago readings of Inferno and The Iliad went. There is no plot, nor satisfying conclusion; this is not a book that one would sit down and read for pleasure. It’s a witch hunter’s manual, and all the more fascinating because it was really used on our timeline to determine if actual people were burned at stakes in town squares.

The Malleus was originally written in Latin by Institoris, a rather zealous inquisitor who I like to picture as a medieval master of misinformation. Here, hundreds of years after the fact, is a prime example of a man who was overeducated in a narrow discipline without perspective. He often misquotes and mis-cites his sources, and twists scripture to best fit the execution of his duties. Though beneath all the delusion and self-righteous justification, I can’t help but wonder how much actual witchcraft was occurring at that time (or nowadays, for that matter). Between this and Murray’s book it’s not hard to think that there must have been some basis in fact for the rise of inquisitorial action against (alleged) sorcerous heretics.

Maxwell-Stuart is a far superior researcher to Institoris. There are eighty-six primary sources listed in the select bibliography for this edition of the Malleus—a lifetime of study should one be so inclined. I think it’s enough for me to know that the materials exist. Perhaps someday I’ll revisit this corner of history with a pickaxe in one hand and a crucifix in the other…

A closing note here: this read, of all the books I’ve read in my near half-century, was the first to bring home the true value of reading for the sake of reading, as a writer. As I read through Institoris’s ramblings I was presciently aware that I would likely never directly use any of the material that I was consuming, but I also knew that on some level, on some archival sub-basement of my brain, everything was being stored just in case.

What a thing to realize. I’m just sorry it took this long.

[Dani Studley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Giving the book one star because the content got thousands of innocents killed. However, I think it was a fascinating and horrifying read into the minds of those filled with stupid hatred. Parts of the book were even empowering, as the fear the author had of powerful women was astonishing. Weak men are afraid of us.

[Lies · Rating 4 out of 5]

De introductie was indrukwekkend; wat een onderzoek!
De Malleus wordt veel geciteerd en gebruikt in discussies en literatuur over de ‘heksenjachten’, en ik vind het belangrijk om toegang te hebben tot een goede vertaling. 👍

[Shaun Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and nutso.

[Solange]

my fav section was:

“Question 9: Do witches employ illusion to trick people into thinking that [men's] penises have been entirely uprooted from their bodies?“

[Schuyler Collis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The original author, Heinrich Kramer, was pompous and probably a heretic. A medieval QAnon maybe. The translation and commentary was good

[Sandy Costa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m glad I’ve finally read it but I’ll never read it again. Good for the novelty factor, but it is, essentially, a legal treatise, and not even one of the better written ones.