Source books · Witchcraft and demonology
Malleus Maleficarum
How this book fits
- Traditions
- Witchcraft and demonology
- Role in the tradition
- Primary source Written from inside the tradition: scripture, revelation, a grimoire, a manifesto or a practical treatise.
- Public attention
- Landmark Wikipedia has an article about it in 47 languages.
Read it
- Summers' translation ↗ sacred-texts.com checked against the Internet Archive's copy of May 13, 2026, because the site refuses scripts · archived copy
From Wikipedia
The Malleus Maleficarum, usually translated as the Hammer of Witches, is the best known treatise about witchcraft. It was written by German Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer and first published in the German city of Speyer in 1486. Some characterize the book as a compendium of preexisting demonological literature of the 15th century, as opposed to an original work.
From the Wikipedia article Malleus Maleficarum, revision 1373986958, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata Q208556: “treatise on the prosecution of witches”.