Malleus Maleficarum - Possibly One of the Most Bloodstained Document in the History of Our World

Hammer of Witches

Abstract from non fiction book WITCH by Rochelle Moore - due out in November 08-amazon or info@greenmagicpublishing.com

MALLEUS MALEFICARUM (hammer of the Witches) is possibly, one of the most bloodstained document in the history of our world. This book was originally written in Latin in 1487 by two supposedly learned and highly respected experts on the subject of Witchcraft. The Malleus, co-written by Henry Kramer and James Sperenger, was the "rulebook" for the detention and persecution of Witches.

The Malleus Maleficarum was submitted to the University of Cologne on the 9th of May, 1487. This book commences with:

"Whether the belief that there are such thing as Witches is so essential a part of the Catholic faith that Obstinacy to maintain the Opposite Opinion manifesty savours Heresy".

The transgressions of these consititutional laws (crimes) were a guidebook for Church hierarchy and anyone who fell into any category e.g, witches, gypsies, druids, ovates, bards, sorcery, witchcraft, demon worship, were legitimized by the two Dominican Inquisitors who wrote this book. The Malleus shaped the onset of the "witch craze" that lasted for hundreds of years.

Prior to the Malleus, in Christianity, every person was considered a heretic who rejected "any point belonging to the form set forth by the Church"; e.g,: penal laws were introduced in the year A.D. 382 and Theodosius was the first to pronounce heresy as a capital crime. As the centuries rolled on, after the publication of the Malleus, punishment for heretics became more violent. When the Court of the Inquisition was founded, a bloody crusade was established.

Extracts from the Malleus Maleficarum (hammer of the Witches) - a few examples (in my book Witch this is far more comprehensive however I have had to jump forward in order to keep this article to the wordcount):

* "How, as it were, that Witches can deprive Man of his virile Member"

* "How Witch midwives commit most Horrid Crimes when they either kill Children or Offer them to Devils in most Accursed Ways"

WITCH by Rochelle Moore
info@greenmagicpublishing.com