By the Pricking Needle: The Malleus Maleficarum and Cautio Criminalis: Abridged and Modernized

by Rachel Summers

Both the 'Malleus Maleficarum' and the 'Cautio Criminalis' hold a special place in the history of the European witch trials, but this is where the similarities between these contentious books ends. The 'Malleus' rails against women and their bewitching ways while the 'Cautio' defends the accused and condemns the often corrupted processes of the trials. Whether for or against, both of these primary sources provide valuable insight into the late medieval mindset and both should be read by any who hope to understand the era. Nonetheless, such texts can be daunting if not tedious, as both are written in the ecclesiastical question and answer format which can wear down any reader. Hence this book, an abridged and modernized version of both texts. 'By the Pricking Needle' is intended as a reference guide and a companion to both the 'Malleus' and the Cautio'. May what you learn herein stir the cauldron of your mind.

206 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 2018

About the author

A Ph.D. shelved in lieu of research inverted and traditional values abandoned, the work of Rachel Summers is what some have called a journey into antinomian mysteriosophy where socially sanctioned morality is turned on its head in order to shake out just a few drops of enlightenment. Summers holds degrees in History, Comparative religions, English Literature, and Philosophy, all centered on the late medieval era. Her first novel, CondAmnation, is a retelling of that era’s favored heroine Joan of Arc. Summers’ Joan, however, is not a holy virgin, not a Christian, and certainly nobody’s good girl. Neither, for that matter, is Summers.