Introduction
The late fifteenth century marked a turning point in European witchcraft persecution, as papal authority and printed treatises converged to legitimise and intensify fears of diabolical witchcraft.

The Papal Bull of 1484

In December 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued the Papal Bull Summis desiderantes affectibus, a crucial document in the history of witch persecution.

Opening of Summis desiderantes affectibus as printed within Malleus Maleficarum. The page demonstrates how Kramer's treatise circulated with the papal text, lending inquisitorial legitimacy to witch prosecutions. The facsimile includes Latin headings typical of late-medieval ecclesiastical print; no additional syllabus-external detail is required. Source

• The bull was written to support inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger in their campaign against witchcraft, particularly in Germany.

• It recognised witchcraft as a real and dangerous crime, associated with heresy and devil-worship.

• By granting inquisitors special authority, it legitimised harsh investigations, including the use of torture, and empowered local clergy and secular officials to prosecute.

The bull emphasised that witches were capable of inflicting harm on humans, crops, and livestock, thus connecting belief in witchcraft to pressing economic and social anxieties.

Heinrich Kramer and the Malleus Maleficarum (1486)

In 1486, Heinrich Kramer (Institoris), aided by Sprenger, published the Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches), one of the most influential demonological texts of the era.

Title page of the Malleus Maleficarum (Lyon, 1669), representing the enduring printed identity of Kramer and Sprenger’s treatise. Such pages helped standardise the work’s authority across jurisdictions via repeat editions. Extra detail: this is a later edition than 1486, used here because it provides a clear, high-quality title page suitable for study. Source

Purpose and Context

• Written to systematise beliefs about witchcraft.

• Aimed at proving witches were a threat to Christian society and that inquisitors were justified in their harsh measures.

• Served as both a theological argument and a practical manual for identifying, interrogating, and prosecuting witches.

Structure

The Malleus was divided into three sections:

• Existence and power of witches – argued that denial of witchcraft was itself heretical.

• Forms of witchcraft and harmful acts – explained the supposed pacts with the Devil and harmful magic.

• Judicial procedures – outlined methods for trials, including the use of torture, and justified the execution of witches.

This work reflected the era’s scholastic and legalistic mindset, blending theology with law in a way that resonated with clergy and secular courts.

The Influence of the Papal Bull and the Malleus

Together, the Papal Bull (1484) and the Malleus Maleficarum (1486) marked the start of a new phase in witchcraft persecution.

Key Impacts

• Authority: The Papal Bull gave inquisitors papal backing, making witch-hunting a matter of religious orthodoxy.

• Codification: The Malleus provided a comprehensive guide, ensuring that witchcraft was seen as a systemic threat requiring systemic response.

• Spread of ideas: With the printing press, the Malleus circulated widely, shaping European beliefs and judicial practices across Germany, France, and beyond.

Composite woodcuts (after Jost Amman) depicting the sixteenth-century papermaker, printer, and bookbinder. These images concisely demonstrate the craft chain that enabled rapid reproduction of texts like the Malleus. Extra detail: the triptych shows adjacent trades beyond the press itself (papermaking and binding) to clarify the full production process. Source

• Integration with heresy trials: Witchcraft was increasingly linked with heresy, bringing it into the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts.

Gendered Perspective

A distinctive feature of the Malleus was its emphasis on women as primary suspects.

• It argued that women were more susceptible to temptation and therefore more likely to engage in witchcraft.

• This reinforced patriarchal views and shaped the gendered patterns of later witch hunts.

Development Toward Widespread Persecution

While belief in magic and witchcraft was not new, the combination of papal endorsement and a widely read manual intensified fears.

• Local communities, already anxious about disease, crop failure, and war, found a religiously sanctioned scapegoat in witches.

• The judicial system increasingly adopted the Malleus’s guidelines, particularly its acceptance of torture as a legitimate tool.

• Theologians and secular rulers alike drew on its authority to justify persecution, which would escalate in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Limitations of Influence

• The Malleus was not universally accepted; some clergy and universities, such as the University of Cologne, condemned it for being excessive.

• Despite criticisms, its authority endured, largely because it echoed existing fears and had papal support.

Linking the Bull and the Malleus

The relationship between the Papal Bull and the Malleus Maleficarum was pivotal.

• The bull created the institutional framework, while the treatise provided the ideological and procedural manual.

• This combination moved witchcraft from a marginal belief into the mainstream of European judicial and theological thought.

Legacy for Later Centuries

From 1484 to the period’s end, the legacy of these documents endured:

• They shaped legal procedure in witch trials for generations.

• They reinforced the belief that witchcraft was not merely superstition but a diabolical conspiracy.

They ensured that accusations of witchcraft would become entwined with wider issues of religious conflict, social anxiety, and state control.