The Malleus Maleficarum

As featured on Suranne Jones: Investigating Witch Trials

In 1487, the zealous inquisitor Heinrich Kramer wrote a treatise that would have a remarkable influence on European history. Blaming women for his own lust, and frustrated by official complacency before what he saw as a monstrous spiritual menace, Kramer penned a practical guide to aid law officers in the identification and prosecution of witches.

Fusing theology, lurid anecdotes and advice for those engaged in combating sorcery, The Malleus Maleficarum transports the reader into the dark heart of medieval belief - where fear and the supernatural converged in a gripping struggle for understanding and control. The book led to the burning of numerous heretics and ’witches’ and had a lasting impact on the popular image of witchcraft.

This edition offers a clear, readable translation and an introduction that lays out the context of late-medieval Europe, a time of spiritual paranoia when powerful men suspected women’s sexuality was a tool of the Devil.

Peter Maxwell-Stuart is a Senior Tutor in the School of History at the University of St Andrews. He has translated numerous Latin texts and is the author of The British Witch (2014), among other titles.