Malleus Maleficarum: 2 Volume Set

The Malleus Maleficarum is the most famous early modern text on witches and witch hunting. Often known as Hammer of Witches, the Malleus consists of descriptions of the practices of witchcraft together with recommended methods of exterminating them. It was republished twenty-six times and remained a standard work on witchcraft for centuries. Yet this key text has never before been available in a reliable modern scholarly edition. This fully annotated edition is based on the first edition of 1486-7 and presents the Latin text together with a full textual apparatus. An extensive introduction discusses the authorship, method of composition, and intellectual background of the work. The second volume provides the only accurate English translation available, together with detailed explanatory notes. This important edition makes this vital text accessible to scholars of the period and offers extraordinary insights into the attitudes and prejudices inspired by the fear of witches.

• An essential text for scholars of medieval and early modern history and literature • Two-volume set comprising an edition of the Latin text and a new English translation • Features an extensive introduction and explanatory notes giving full background as well as analysis

Volume I: General introduction; Introduction to the Latin text; Malleus Maleficarum; Appendix. Volume II: Notes about usages in the translation; Malleus Maleficarum: English translation.