Many think that witch hunters were irrational people who acted without reason or basis, but the reality is a little more complicated than that since most of them followed a quite strict and structured code that laid the foundations not only for that dark period of humanity but also of criminology, etiology and some aspects of the legal world: the Malleus Maleficarum.
Here is the story of this dark document and why was the Malleus Maleficarum created. We’ll delve into its social implications, its importance in our present life, and some other details of this commonly called “witch hunters’ bible.”
History of Malleus Maleficarum
The invention of this text, which appeared at the height of the Inquisition and the witch hunts of the Middle Ages, is credited to two German monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, who mixed their knowledge of witchcraft and demonology to support Christianity in this “holy struggle,” as it was considered in those days. It became known to the world in 1486, and since then, according to information from the University of Navarra, it became a watershed in the religious processes of witch-hunting during the three centuries that followed.
Today, the Malleus Maleficarum, whose Latin translation would be “witches’ hammer,” is a text widely criticized by all kinds of organizations and scientific units; although it is a fact that it left an important legacy for its historical relevance and its criminalistic and legal implications that we will see below.
This text prompted the European separation between Catholic and Protestant monarchies and society in general since its content was not only considered highly fanciful by its detractors but also immoral for its promotion of torture methods to combat, apparently, the stain of evil in human souls. However, history tells us that the European Inquisition was a religious movement that was really established for political reasons to eradicate enemies of the State, who were considered “heretics” and was publicly executed to cause fear among parishioners and, thus, prevent possible uprisings against them.
What is the Malleus Maleficarum?
The book, which in itself is a treatise on the existence of witchcraft in earthly life, is mainly composed of three parts, according to the translation made by the author Miguel Jiménez Monteserín:
The first part defines the concepts of “witch,” “witchcraft,” and “demon,” among others, as a treatise, as well as the verification of their existence based on the “sacred scriptures” and how religion has fought these beings in ancient times. The second part points out in what ways witchcraft can be present in daily life and materialize in everyday homes so that people know how to identify if someone has been the victim of a spell or something similar. Finally, the third part exemplifies methods to “process” the sinners as well as proposing a “treatment” to be given to a possible witch or warlock so that they admit their sin and purge their soul through sacrifice.
Professor Octavio R. Acedo Quezada (UNAM) points out in his text, Remedievalization of Law and Politics, that the treatise also deals with legal and criminalistic matters. Some of these are the inclusion of a “canonical criminal law” related to witches, an etiology treatise on the existence of the “stinking crime,” and a manual of inquisitorial law, which takes up the ideas of the Aragonese inquisitor Nicolás Emerich.
It is precisely these last contents that have made the text not to be completely discarded in the progress of society, since they set a precedent in criminal policy, and its way of execution, which still remains valid today as the justification of the State’s criminal power. It also sets some guidelines to proceed legally when a crime has been committed as well as the rights that each party involved in the case has, among other details.
The main victims of the Malleus Maleficarum
The establishment of the Inquisition has been pointed out by specialists and historians as one of the greatest events of misogyny in the world since the main victims of this socio-political process were women who practiced ancestral methods of healing through the use of natural matter.
The mentioned article from the University of Navarra points out that the main reason for the conflict between the men of the clergy and the healers of yesteryear had to do with a projection of patriarchal fear towards atypical women, who did not allow themselves to be dominated by the religious doctrine that undermined them and placed them below men in all social structures including their families. The clergy was not only afraid of women’s ancestral knowledge and indomitable spirit but also of the power that their voice could have in various communities. This was something that, according to the vision of the political hegemony of the time, could become a threat to the social principles they had strived to raise.
The Malleus Maleficarum rightly seeks to sustain that women are the root of many evils in the world, and that is why they are more prone to fall into the clutches of the devil to become allies in the destruction of humanity. Based on this idea, the text suggests that the power of these witches lies in the control of nature to provoke storms and evils for men, such as sterility and the sacrifice of infants in satanic rituals.
“A witch was described by four main characteristics: practicing ‘maleficium’ or doing harm employing supernatural resources; flying; attending witches’ meetings, called covens; and having a pact with the devil,” says Raúl Madrid, professor of law at the University of Navarra.
Precisely for this reason, the “witches’ hammer” is also considered a great example of how social, economic, and even religious power has managed to create a structure that normalizes misogyny.
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
