World History 1: Ancient and Pre-Modern World
Document Essay
Mar/28/2013
Malleus Maleficarum
The Malleus Maleficarum is, perhaps, one of the most outrageous texts in the history of
humanity, and specifically, of the Catholic Church. The Malleus was written on 1486 by
Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger. The Malleus Maleficarum it’s a religious and political text
that explains how witches work, what kinds of witches there are, and how should they be
punished. It is a book that is soaked in blood, for an estimate of the people who died at the hands
of the Inquisitor’s Court range from 600,000 to 9,000,000 (Introduction). The Malleus not only
reflects the society of the time in which it was written, but shaped that society for years to come.
The Malleus had such a powerful effect on society that its effects reached the New World
in the famous Salem Witch Trials in Salem Massachusetts about 200 years after the Malleus was
written. The Malleus was written in the Dark Ages, a time in which magic was believed to be
true, the view of Mars meant war, and the Moon had an effect on crops. The Catholic Church, by
that time, was the ultimate power.Tthe Malleus puts the Estate below the Church when a heretic
is to be trialed. “…and Inquisitors deputed by the Apostolic See to inquire into the pest of heresy
should manifestly not have to concern themselves with diviners and soothsayers, unless these are
also heretics, nor should it be their business to punish such, but they may leave them to be
punished by their own judges.” (Third Part, General & Introduction). In this paragraph of the
Malleus we can see the clear difference made between the Church and Estate, and it also points
out that the Church should not be bothered with a trial, unless the accused is also being charged
with heresy, which according to the Malleus, is the only crime that the Inquisitor’s Court will
punish.
The fact that the Inquisitor’s Court will only punish those who’ve...