Heinrich Kramer

HEINRICH KRAMER (ca.1430-1505).
"Malleus maleficarum". Two volumes.
Printer: Claudius Mourgeat, Lyon, 1669.
Presents faults caused by xylophages.
With binding of the eighteenth century, with faults.
Measurements: 25 x 19 x 5 cm.
The Malleus Maleficarum "Hammer of witches" is one of the most disturbing and decisive works of late medieval Europe. Published in 1487 in Strasbourg by the Dominicans Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, this treatise was not just a book: it was an instrument of power that shaped mentalities for centuries. Born in a context of fear, social change and religious fervor, the text sought to prove the existence of witchcraft, describe its practices and, above all, teach how to persecute it. Indirectly supported by Pope Innocent VIII's bull Summis desiderantes affectibus, the book acquired an authority that made it a reference for inquisitors, judges and demonologists throughout Europe.Its success was resounding: republished dozens of times and disseminated thanks to the printing press, the Malleus fed the collective imagination and shaped the stereotype of the witch. But its legacy is obscure. Beyond theory, it legitimized systematic persecution, justified torture and contributed to one of the greatest waves of violence in European history: the witch hunts, which for centuries led to the condemnation of thousands of people, mostly women.
Heinrich Kramer, also known as Heinrich Institor, was a Dominican friar born around 1430 in Schlettstadt and died around 1505 in Kroměříž. He excelled as an inquisitor in various regions of central Europe, such as Tyrol, Salzburg, Bohemia and Moravia, and gained recognition for his intense activity and ability as a preacher.He is known primarily as one of the authors of the Malleus Maleficarum, a key work in the persecution of witchcraft, which he produced in collaboration with Jacob Sprenger under the impetus of the bull of Innocent VIII. However, his work was very controversial: several theologians criticized him for departing from doctrine and employing questionable methods, and he was even denounced before the Inquisition itself in 1490.