"Malleus Maleficarum" labeled witchcraft as heresy, and quickly became the authority for Protestants and Catholics trying to flush out witches living among them.
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The book, usually translated as “The Hammer of Witches,” was essentially a guide on how to identify, hunt and interrogate witches. The publication of “Malleus Maleficarum”-written by two well-respected German Dominicans in 1486-likely spurred witch mania to go viral. Germany had the highest witchcraft execution rate, while Ireland had the lowest. Around 80 percent of them were women thought to be in cahoots with the Devil and filled with lust. Single women, widows and other women on the margins of society were especially targeted.īetween the years 15, up to 80,000 suspected witches were put to death in Europe. Within a century, witch hunts were common and most of the accused were executed by burning at the stake or hanging. Witch hysteria really took hold in Europe during the mid-1400s, when many accused witches confessed, often under torture, to a variety of wicked behaviors. Other Old Testament verses condemn witches, such as the oft-cited Exodus 22:18, which says, “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” Additional Biblical passages caution against divination, chanting or using witches to contact the dead. The next day, according to the Bible, Saul’s sons died in battle, and Saul committed suicide. The witch roused Samuel, who then prophesied the death of Saul and his sons.
It tells the story of when King Saul sought the Witch of Endor to summon the dead prophet Samuel’s spirit to help him defeat the Philistine army.
It’s unclear exactly when witches came on the historical scene, but one of the earliest records of a witch is in the Bible in the book of 1 Samuel, thought be written between 931 B.C. Many, however, were simply natural healers or so-called “wise women” whose choice of profession was misunderstood. Most witches were thought to be pagans doing the Devil’s work. Early witches were people who practiced witchcraft, using magic spells and calling upon spirits for help or to bring about change.
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