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Excerpts from The Malleus Maleficarum

About the text: The Malleus Maleficarum was at one point the most popular book on earth after

the Bible. It was written by Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger and details how witches came

to be, how to discover witches, and how to punish them in courts. The book was so highly

regarded by the Catholic Church that anyone who disagreed with any part of the book was

labeled a heretic and ran the risk of being tortured or executed as a witch themselves. Nearly

600,000 women and female children (that we know of) were tortured and executed as witches

during the Inquisition with help from this book. Some scholars put the number as high as

8,000,000. We will never know exactly.

Here are the titles of the chapters of The Malleus Maleficarum:

 The Belief in Witches is so Essential a Part of the Catholic Faith that Having the

Opposite Opinion Manifestly Qualifies as Heresy

 Whether Children can be Generated by Incubi and Succubi

 By which Devils are the Operations of Incubus and Sucubus Pratcised?

 What is the Source of the Increase of Works of Witchcraft? Why Has It So Notably

Increased?

 Why is it that Women are Chiefly Addicted to Evil Superstitions?

 Whether Witches Can Sway the Minds of Men to Love

 Whether Witches can Hebetate the Powers of Generation or Obstruct the Venereal Act

 Whether Witches Can Change Men into Beasts

 Witches Who are Midwives Kill Children Conceived in the Womb, Procure Abortions,

Offer New-Born Children to Devils, or Eat Them

Excerpt from the Section on Why there are more Women Witches than Men:

Others again have propounded other reasons why there are more superstitious women

found than men. And the first is, that they are more credulous; and since the chief aim of the

devil is to corrupt faith, therefore he rather attacks them… The second reason is, that women are

naturally more impressionable, and more ready to receive the influence of a disembodied spirit;

and that when they use this quality well they are very good, but when they use it ill they are very

evil….The third reason is that they have slippery tongues, and are unable to conceal from the

fellow-women those things which by evil arts they know; and, since they are weak, they find an

easy and secret manner of vindicating themselves by witchcraft….All wickedness is but little to

the wickedness of a woman. And to this may be added that, as they are very impressionable, they

act accordingly.

But because in these times this perfidy is more often found in women than in men, as we

learn by actual experience, if anyone is curious as to the reason, we may add to what has already

been said the following: that since they are feebler both in mind and body, it is not surprising that

they should come more under the spell of witchcraft . . .

But the natural reason is that she is more carnal than a man, as is clear from her many

carnal abominations. And it should be noted that there was a defect in the formation of the first

woman, since she was formed from a bent rib, that is, a rib of the breast, which is bent as it were

in a contrary direction to a man. And since through this defect she is an imperfect animal, she

always deceives . . .

And indeed, just as through the first defect in their intelligence that are more prone to

abjure the faith; so through their second defect of inordinate affections and passions they search

for, brood over, and inflict various vengeances, either by witchcraft, or by some other means.

Wherefore it is no wonder that so great a number of witches exist in this sex . . .

To conclude. All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable. See

Proverbs xxx: There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, a fourth thing which says not, It

is enough; that is, the mouth of the womb. Wherefore for the sake of fulfilling their lusts they

consort even with devils. More such reasons could be brought forward, but to the understanding

it is sufficiently clear that it is no matter for wonder that there are more women than men found

infected with the heresy of witchcraft. And in consequence of this, it is better called the heresy of

witches than of wizards, since the name is taken from the more powerful party. And blessed be

the Highest Who has so far preserved the male sex from so great a crime: for since He was

willing to be born and to suffer for us, therefore He has granted to men the privilege.

Excerpt from Section on How to Determine if a Woman is a Witch:

If he wishes to find out whether she is endowed with a witch's power of preserving

silence, let him take note whether she is able to shed tears when standing in his presence, or

when being tortured. For we are taught both by the words of worthy men of old and by our

own experience that this is a most certain sign, and it has been found that even if she be

urged and exhorted by solemn conjurations to shed tears, if she be a witch she will not be

able to weep: although she will assume a tearful aspect and smear her cheeks and eyes with

spittle to make it appear that she is weeping; wherefore she must be closely watched by the

attendants.

In passing sentence the Judge or priest may use some such method as the following in

conjuring her to true tears if she be innocent, or in restraining false tears. Let him place his

hand on the head of the accused and say: I conjure you by the bitter tears shed on the Cross

by our Saviour the Lord JESUS Christ for the salvation of the world, and by the burning

tears poured in the evening hour over His wounds by the most glorious Virgin MARY, His

Mother, and by all the tears which have been shed here in this world by the Saints and Elect

of God, from whose eyes He has now wiped away all tears, that if you be innocent you do

now shed tears, but if you be guilty that you shall by no means do so. In the name of the

Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.

And it is found by experience that the more they are conjured the less are they able to

weep, however hard they may try to do so, or smear their cheeks with spittle. Nevertheless it

is possible that afterwards, in the absence of the Judge and not at the time or in the place of

torture, they may be able to weep in the presence of their gaolers.

And as for the reason for a witch's inability to weep, it can be said that the grace of

tears is one of the chief gifts allowed to the penitent; for S. Bernard tells us that the tears of

the humble can penetrate to heaven and conquer the unconquerable. Therefore there can be

no doubt that they are displeasing to the devil, and that he uses all his endeavour to restrain

them, to prevent a witch from finally attaining to penitence.

But it may be objected that it might suit with the devil's cunning, with God's

permission, to allow even a witch to weep; since tearful grieving, weaving and deceiving are

said to be proper to women. We may answer that in this case, since the judgements of God

are a mystery, if there is no other way of convicting the accused, by legitimate witnesses or

the evidence of the fact, and if she is not under a strong or grave suspicion, she is to be

discharged; but because she rests under a slight suspicion by reason of her reputation to

which the witnesses have testified, she must be required to abjure the heresy of witchcraft,

as we shall show when we deal with the second method of pronouncing sentence.

The third precaution to be observed in this tenth action is that the hair should be shaved

from every part of her body. The reason for this is the same as that for stripping her of her

clothes, which we have already mentioned; for in order to preserve their power of silence

they are in the habit of hiding some superstitious object in their clothes or in their hair, or

even in the most secret parts of the their bodies which must not be named.

But it may be objected that the devil might, without the use of such charms, so harden

the heart of a witch that she is unable to confess her crimes; just as it is often found in the

case of other criminals, no matter how great the tortures to which they are exposed, or how

much they are convicted by the evidence of the facts and of witnesses. We answer that it is

true that the devil can affect such taciturnity without the use of such charms; but he prefers

to use them for the perdition of souls and the greater offence to the Divine Majesty of God.

This can be made clear from the example of a certain witch in the town of Hagenau,

whom we have mentioned in the Second Part of this work. She used to obtain this gift of

silence in the following manner: she killed a newly-born first-born male child who had not

been baptized, and having roasted it in an oven together with other matters which it is not

expedient to mention, ground it to powder and ashes; and if any witch or criminal carried

about him some of this substance he would in no way be able to confess his crimes.

Here it is clear that a hundred thousand children so employed could not of their own

virtue endow a person with such a power of keeping silence; but any intelligent person can

understand that such means are used by the devil for the perdition of souls and to offend the

Divine Majesty.