From Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches)

Published in 1486
Reprinted in The Malleus Maleficarum of
Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger in 1971

The Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches) was the official handbook for detecting, capturing, torturing, and killing witches (see Chapter 1). It was written in 1486 by Austrian priest Heinrich Kramer (also spelled Kraemer) and German priest Jakob Sprenger, at the request of Pope Innocent VIII, the head of the Roman Catholic Church. The document became the second-best-selling book in Europe for over two centuries (the top best-seller was the Bible). As the main justification for the persecution of witches, the authors relied on a brief passage in the Bible, that states: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18).

The Malleus Maleficarum was a three-part work that...