Proof of Evils ExistanceAugust 2, 2008 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book said to have caused the execution of over nine million people quotes the Bible,Aristotle,Plato and many others said to be the founders of what is called knowledge to this day arguing within itself the ways of wicked fallen entities or angels and how they work amongst men.Leaning on the Godly good that men should live their lives in accord to and in the next breath they actually tell you how to get Gods permission to commit genocide or least thats what they incited in all who read or heard of it.It is in itself evident proof of the existance of evil as an intelligent,manipulative entity.The pen is mightier than the sword for the pen drives the masses to the sword.An incredible work of genius and learning for the maligned masses of the uneducated non thinking peoples of the time to justify their confusion and actions.
A must read.April 21, 2008 It's important to remember and read about the history of our world. The Malleus Maleficarum is a vital part of our history. To see how women were demonized and being treated in history is something that everyone should be familiar with. People wonder why the Catholic Church is unpopular with certain individuals, read this and you'll get a clue.
Fascinating glimpse of Medieval logicJanuary 31, 2008 Please note: This particular version is translated and annotated by Montague Summers. Summers was ABSOLUTELY NOT a Catholic priest, despite some allegations otherwise. He was completely obsessed with the occult, was a friend of Aleister Crowley, and belonged to a secret, subversive order himself. His 1928 translation of the Malleus is very sympathetic to the Inquisitors. YOU HAVE TO read his contributions to this work through that lens and be careful what you believe!
That being said . . .
The Malleus is highly recommended source material for anyone even remotely interested in the Witchcraft scares and trials of the middle ages. Commissioned by the Pope himself to root out heresy and witchcraft in Northern Germany in the 15th century, Kramer and Sprenger set out to provide comprehensive proof of the existence of witches and advice on how to deal with them. And no, the end result was not always a burning at the stake.
Whatever you might think of the conclusions reached, the book is full of delicately crafted logic based on Aristotle and Church fathers, namely St. Augustine of Hippo. Many of the assumptions on which they base their arguments are flawed and have since been proven false. And of course, few still advocate death for the practice of the occult. Nevertheless, it is a brilliant peek into the scholarly mind of the Middle Ages.
Understand What This IsDecember 11, 2007 1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Is this book about wiccans? No obviously not. It was written in the middle ages, wicca didn't exist in the middle ages. Ergo it can't possibly be about wicca. It's about witchcraft.
Witchcraft is the practice of magic or more specificly magic practiced to harm and destroy at least in this context. Thats the defenition that has been used in english for HUNDREDS of years. Wicca is a modern umbrella religion covering a wide range of idealized pagan practices combined with magic and some new age ideas. It is not historical PAGANISM. For one thing historical pagans didn't generally practice magic (this was left to the shaman and wise women not to every random person who followed the religion in fact in several ancient pagan societies magic was illegal if not preformed by the preists note for example Rome's laws against sorcery). For another ancient pagans practiced human and animal sacrafice (please see writtings of Julius Ceaser regarding the Druids or the practices of the Aztec and Mayan cultures of Mexico for examples).
Now is this book pure fiction? Yes and no. ITs primarily a book of the beliefs of the middle ages regarding black magicians. Their has never been an organized satanic religion (unless you count the church of Anton Lavey which DOES NOT worship Satan so it isn't really Satanism) like the writters feared. Some of the practices it mentions did actually exist if not at the time of its writting, some time in the recorded past. For examples the accounts of witch's sabbats are extremely similar to older accounts of Greco-Roman Bachanals and it's likely the writers drew on this well documented historical practice to form their ideas of what medevil black rites would be like. Also a number of recepies for flying ointments do still survive into the modern era some of which include some pretty vile ingredients but all include powerful hallucinigenic compounds. These compounds when introduced to the body through an extremely moist area through a long instrument like a broom or staff would have caused hallucinations like flying. Records of the ointments used by shape changers also involve powerful hallucinigenic compounds (its interesting that Kramer and Speigel actually put forward the idea that shape shifters are only going through some thing psychological not physical which is in keeping with some theories about the origins of shape shifter lore).
Also realize that while the overwelming majority of accused men and women were innocent they weren't all innocent. We know for example that Tibbuhta (a slave in Salem) was a practicioner a Voodoo so the charge of practicing magic in her case was justified (if not the charge of consorting with the devil). We also have the story of Giles De Rais. Giles was a field marshall of France who served under Joan of Arc. After Joan's death he was accused of several crimes: pedophilia, sodomizing young boys, cannabalism, black magic, and Satanism among them. His first response to the charges was not to proclaim his innocence but to insist that as a noble man he should not be accused. Later after being threatened with torture (although he was not actually tortured) he gave a tearful confession and was burnt at the stake.
Despite these exceptions this book is mostly filled with myths. Its a primer on the beliefs and superstitions that lead to the witch trials (other texts support that several of these ideas were not unique to the authors). Whats particularly tragic is that if some of its warnings were adhered to its possible lives could have been saved (they reject the practice of ordeals to find guilt and suggest the court must make a serious effort to reject testimony from mortal enemies of the accused) although probably not a signifigant majority. This book gets 5 stars as a historical document of a dark time NOT as a how to manual for the modern world. It should be read and studied the way Mein Kamph should be read and studied. To understand the unmitigated evil we as a species are capable of to help guard against it ever happening again.
Good book for those who like historyAugust 24, 2007 This book is a great way into the mindset of the people of the time. We get a view into those involved with a terrible set of events the Spanish inquision.
