img Leseprobe Leseprobe

Malleus Maleficarum

The Hammer of Witches

James Sprenger, Heinrich Kramer

EPUB
ca. 2,99
Amazon iTunes Thalia.de Hugendubel Bücher.de ebook.de kobo Osiander Google Books Barnes&Noble bol.com Legimi yourbook.shop Kulturkaufhaus
* Affiliatelinks/Werbelinks
Hinweis: Affiliatelinks/Werbelinks
Links auf reinlesen.de sind sogenannte Affiliate-Links. Wenn du auf so einen Affiliate-Link klickst und über diesen Link einkaufst, bekommt reinlesen.de von dem betreffenden Online-Shop oder Anbieter eine Provision. Für dich verändert sich der Preis nicht.

Cedar Lake Classics img Link Publisher

Geisteswissenschaften, Kunst, Musik / Religion/Theologie

Beschreibung

This seminal treatise about witchcraft and demons was penned by Heinrich Kramer, a man of the 1800's who had tried (and failed) to have a woman executed for witchcraft. Unhappy at the verdict of the court, Kramer authored the Malleus Maleficarum as a manual for other witch seekers to refer to. For centuries the text was used by Christians as a reference source on matters of demonology, although it was not used directly by the Inquisition who became notorious for their tortures and murders. Today, Kramer's book is considered to be a seminal treatise on witchcraft and demons. This edition was translated into modern English by Montague Summers.

At the time this book was published in 1487, the Christian church had considered witchcraft a dangerous affront to the faith for centuries on end. Executions of suspected witches were intermittent, and various explanations of behaviors deemed suspect were thought to be caused by possession, either by the devil or demon (for example, incubus or succubus).

Contrary to popular belief, Kramer's work does not exclusively recommend death by burning as a punishment for witches. It does describe various methods of exorcism, whereby the demonic force may be banished from the body of the suffering witch. It also openly advocates discrimination against women, albeit while acknowledging that a minority of witchcraft practitioners are male.

A theory on why the vast majority of witches are female is offered, rooted in the presence of woman in the Biblical canon. Towards the end of the book, Kramer contends that witches are created from a pact made with the Devil himself, with whom they engage in sexual liaisons. The witch is then summoned by flight to an evil assembly headed by the Devil, encouraged to practice illicit forms of sex, and then granted the powers of maleficent magic.

Today, Malleus Malificarum is considered to be the single and most complete source on Christian attitudes to witchcraft and demons in existence.

Weitere Titel von diesem Autor

Kundenbewertungen

Schlagwörter

Inquisition, Supernatural Beliefs, Witch Persecution, Witchcraft Trials, Witch Hunts, Demonology, Medieval Europe