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 it. It was republished twenty-six times and remained a standard work on witchcraft for centuries yet it has never before been available in a reliable modern scholarly edition, until now.

This fully annotated edition is based on the first edition of 1486-7 and presents the Latin text together with a full textual apparatus. The second volume provides the only accurate English translation available, together with detailed explanatory notes.

A vital text for medieval historians, offering extraordinary insights into the attitudes and prejudices inspired by the fear of witches.

Contents

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

Key features

• 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
• An extensive introduction offering explanatory notes giving the full background to the text as well as a comprehensive analysis.