A treatise on the demonology of the hammer of the witches. The Witch's Hammer - Inquisitor's Bloody Bible

Hello dear readers of the site. Sprint Response. Today in this article you can see the questions in the crossword puzzle No. 19 of "AiF" 2017 and the answers to them. Responses to the crossword in the newspaper Arguments and Facts No. 19 for 2017   You can see below, the number of letters in the word and the place of the word in the crossword puzzle grid are indicated in parentheses. The answers to the crossword puzzle can be found at the bottom of the article in a compact form.

Horizontally:

1. Fuel for bragging (14 words horizontally).
  4. Square-nested ... planting potatoes (6 word horizontally).
  9. Who "provides immortality after death" to our smaller brothers? (12 word horizontal).
  10. Language transformation (7th word horizontally).
  12. Soapy, but not opera (4 words horizontally).
  13. The art of falling into notes with movements (5th word horizontally).
  14. “It rushes through ... on a dolphin, into a silver trumpet horn” (5th word horizontally).
  16. How much compensation did Ostap Bender receive from Alexander Koreiko? (7 word horizontal).
  20. Who is placed over the monks? (6 word horizontal).
  22. "Aspen weapons" against vampires (3 word horizontal).
  23. “It is not necessary to frown, ...!” (4 words horizontally).
  27. A blank for a bouncer (5th word horizontally).
  28. In which of our regional centers is the path across the border? (11 word horizontal).
  31. Where mice without food will definitely not stay? (5 word horizontal).
  32. Which Martha became the third wife of Ivan the Terrible? (8 word horizontal).
  34. Surname of Pope John Paul 2 (7th word horizontally).
  35. What flower is associated with the goddess Diana? (6 word horizontal).
  39. Crisp for sweet tooth (4 word horizontal).
  40. "In big trouble and ... thicker" (5 horizontal word).
  41. "Artificial interruption" of power (9th word horizontally).
  42. Skirt on Sean Connery on special occasions (4 word horizontal).
  43. “Whoever has hands in the manure, on his lips ...” (Finnish proverb) (3 words horizontally).
  45. A fabulous hard worker who paid for his stinginess to his employer (5 horizontal word).
  46. \u200b\u200bCartoon lion who went on vacation to Africa (9 horizontal word).
  47. Where did Raymond Pauls come from? (4 word horizontal).
48. Which lizard was once Australia's main predator? (5 word horizontal).
  49. What is listed on the exchange? (5 word horizontal).
  50. “Taxi driver without a license” in driver jargon (7th word horizontally).
  51. "Guarantee" that you will keep your mouth shut (4 words horizontally).
  52. Game throwers (5 word horizontal).

Vertically:

1. The loss of "in a state of affect" (12 words vertically).
  2. Table tread (8 word vertically).
  3. Russian artist who had a hand in creating budenovki (8 words vertically).
  5. The cult film "... Jurassic" (4 words vertically).
  6. What metal have alchemists associated with Saturn? (6 word vertically).
  7. Who plays the saxophone in the film “Lily of the Valley Silver”? (6 word vertically).
  8. “Pass us by and forgive us our happiness” (classic novel) (5th word vertically).
  11. Which European country has the longest maritime border with Canada in the world? (5 word vertically).
  12. Heat in hell (5 words vertically).
  15. The night state of a healthy brain (5 words vertically).
  17. Art enamel (7th word vertically).
  18. An employee who helps to "reduce scores" (9 words vertically).
  19. A bird that swallows prey without removing its beak from the silt (5 words vertically).
  21. "Blood Steel" from Pushkin's "Black Shawl" (5th word vertically).
  22. “The area of \u200b\u200bthe official” (7th word vertically).
  24. What is the cult treatise “Hammer of the Witches” dedicated to? (11 words vertically).
  25. Smoke over boiling water (3 words vertically).
  26. Nutmeg (11 word vertically).
  28. From what swamp plant do magicians make the “rod of the ruler of the moon world”? (5 word vertically).
  29. Venetian ruler (3 words vertically).
  30. “French Spencer Tracy”, who had a stormy romance with Marlene Dietrich (5 vertical word).
  33. Who “brings light to the people”? (8 words vertically).
  36. “Fat in a pan” (7th word vertically).
  37. How are they paying the croupier? (3 word vertically).
  38. What vegetables should not be relied upon for kidney problems? (7 word vertically).
  39. The "Golden Capital" of Siberia (7th word vertically).
  41. What is “looking at night” put on? (6 word vertically).
  44. Which Tom did Matt Damon play in Anthony Mingella's crime drama? (5 word vertically).
  46. \u200b\u200bDecor braids (4 words vertically).

In 1486, Heinrich Kramer and Jakob Sprenger wrote an impressive treatise called the “Hammer of the Witches”. The main objective of this work was to prove the existence of witchcraft, to show that women conjure more often than men, and to describe the ways in which competent people can easily identify a witch and prove her guilt. Kramer and Sprenger (the contribution of the first was limited to the prologue, but his name is on the title page) knew what they were talking about: they were inquisitors and created a treatise based on their own experience. Sociologist Moira Smith describes the place in the Hammer of the Witches folklore narrative dedicated to theft of penises in an article published in the journal Journal of Folklore Research.

For generations of historians, this book has been described as a blatant example of how cruel a person can be. The “Hammer of the Witches” is called the “fruit of paranoid sexual fantasies”, however, the inquisitors used the information contained in the treatise for many decades, condemning and killing women who were convicted of “witchcraft” according to his position.

Three stories

Kramer made an important contribution to inciting hatred of women. It was he who first clearly articulated the idea that witchcraft is the prerogative of the female sex. “All witchcraft comes from a passion for carnal pleasures, which is insatiable in women,” the inquisitor wrote. It is not surprising that such a sexist approach to business determined the nature of crimes allegedly committed by witches: they were almost always related to the issue of gender relations. Sorceresses copulated with incubuses, had abortions, became infertile, and interfered in the intimate relationships of husbands and their wives. As one of the strangest examples of such activity, Kramer talks about how witches steal male genital organs.

This topic is found in the treatise three times. In the first part of the work, the inquisitor discusses whether sorceresses and demons can make the penis disappear, and concludes that if the former are really capable of doing this, the latter only create the illusion of lack of male dignity in the victim, which is also obvious to observers. In the second part, Kramer describes ways to get out of this state. In the third, he gives examples of theft of the penis.

Image: cover of the seventh edition of the book (Cologne, 1520) / University of Sydney

“In Ravensburg, a young man was attached to a girl, but when he wanted to leave her, he miraculously lost his male member, so he could not see him and felt only a smooth body,” says Kramer. Then, following the advice of the woman he met in the tavern, the young man returned to the witch and demanded his penis back, threatening to otherwise kill her. After that, the sorceress “touched her hips to the pubis with her hand and said:“ Now you have what you wanted ””.

“Once, he said, when I accepted the confession, a young man came and during the confession bitterly complained that he had lost his penis. Surprised, I did not want to believe his words; "He is light-hearted who believes easily," says the wise. But I was convinced personally when the young man took off his dress, showed that place, and I did not see anything. Being completely sane, I asked if he suspected anyone who had bewitched him so; the young man replied that he suspects, but that she is not here, she lives in Worms; "Then I advise you: immediately go to her and try, as far as possible, to propitiate her with promises and affectionate words." He did so. A few days later he returned and thanked me, saying that he was healthy and got everything back; I believed his words, but again checked with my own eyes. "

Finally, Kramer describes a completely fantastic picture:

“Finally, what do you need to think about those witches that such members in large numbers, up to twenty or thirty members at a time, hide in a bird’s nest or box where they move, as if alive, and eat food that many have seen and that is widely known? To this it should be said that all this is done by devilish obsession and action, since the feelings of the audience are deceived by the above methods. Someone said that when he lost a member and turned to a witch to restore his health, she ordered him to climb a tree and take one from the nest there, in which there were a large number of members. When he wanted to take one more from them, the witch said: “No, this one is not touching, and at the same time added, he belongs to one priest”.

Researchers at Witch's Hammer usually understand this passage unambiguously: everything described is the fruit of Cramer’s sick imagination, and the inquisitor is not joking. This, say, in 1584, the Englishman Reginald Scott, an ardent opponent of the belief in witchcraft and witches, noted in his book: “This is not a joke, because it is written by those who decide and decide who lives and who doesn't.” But is it really so?

Image: Hans Baldung / Staedel Museum, Weather Witches, 1523

Where did he go?

Modern critics of The Hammer of the Witches come from the absurdity of allegations of magical theft of the penis, explaining everything solely by the imagination of the authors of the book. Nevertheless, descriptions of such practices are often found in folklore. For example, in 1567, a demonologist Jean Boden recorded a conversation with a woman who claimed to know more than fifty ways by which she could cause impotence, prevent conception, and even make urination difficult for the victim - just simply knot the knots on the threads properly.

Witch hunters knew popular beliefs and often focused on them in their work. If the woman’s husband became impotent, he could safely file for a divorce - because according to Canon Law of the Catholic Church, it was believed that witchcraft caused impotence.

Of course, Kramer went further, he was talking about the disappearance of the penis. Subsequently, other demonologists also noted cases of “retraction, hiding, or complete removal of the penis,” blaming the devil and his servants. There is evidence that women were tried for such “crimes” (although there are not many).

Most likely, when describing cases of "illusory theft" of the penis, Kramer refers to impotence when it comes to the loss of male dignity, and not the penis per se. Speaking of cases of real disappearance, the inquisitor probably refers to the genital retraction syndrome (cortex) - a condition known to modern psychiatrists. In medical practice, it is defined as follows: "fear or mania of drawing the genitals into the abdominal cavity, which will result in death."

This syndrome is little known in the West, but the beliefs associated with it exist, say, in China or Africa. The culprits of the genital retraction are vampires, ghosts, and spirits of women who died during childbirth. In West Africa, it is believed that sorcerers steal the penises, and in large numbers - if this happens, the crowd catches the "sorcerer" and beat him until he returns the stolen goods.

Image: Jacob Cornelitz van Oostzanen "Saul and the Witch of Endor", 1526

Kramer in Witch's Hammer writes that witches "do not really take away a member from the human body, but they only hide it from the sorcerers' art." Given the skepticism of the author of the treatise, it is not surprising that there are almost no such cases in the documentary evidence of witch trials.

Despite the fact that psychiatrists and inquisitors claim that penises do not physically disappear, medicine has known cases of sudden reduction in genitals, which probably underlie cortex and other similar beliefs. This is probably what Kramer writes about when he talks about examining the young man's inguinal region with a “respected priest” (which most likely was the inquisitor himself).

Nest

The "nest of living penises" described in the treatise, which the witch contains as pets, is another matter. Did Kramer really believe what he was writing? According to him, many people know about this practice, but then where is the other medieval evidence of this phenomenon?

The key to unraveling the mystery is how the inquisitor describes the picture. He claims that the witch contains penis in the nest and feeds them with oats. That is, in fact, we are talking about chicks, and birds in western folklore are often associated with the penis. For example, in English there is jargon cock ("cockerel"), in 19th-century England a member was called a "bird", in the USA - a "kenar" and a "cuckoo". Jokes in which the penis is compared to a bird are very popular.

Image: Martin van Maele “The Great Danse Macabre of the Quick”

Given all this, the nest Kramer writes about is not at all the fruit of his inflamed consciousness. It remains to answer the question of why at the end of the story the witch forbids the man to take the largest penis, since it belongs to the “one priest”. As a result, this passage cannot be interpreted otherwise than as humor.

Inquisitors are joking too

And this is true - the size of the male genitalia has long been a joke. Moreover, there are variations on the theme of the old joke: the nun does not want to meet with one monk until he, in the darkness of the night, comes to her cell and shows what he is capable of. The monk persuades another monk, brother Conrad, famous for the size of his manhood, to replace him, but the nun very quickly realizes that the wrong one came to her - a member of the brother Conrad is known to everyone in the convent.

But what does this anti-clerical joke do in “the most important and sinister demonology work ever written”? The “Hammer of the Witches” is full of life stories, and almost all of them consist of three key elements: someone turns to an authoritative person for help, she gives him recommendations for solving the problem, after which the result is described.

Image: medieval miniature

But the story of a nest with living penises does not follow this paradigm. It does not tell how it all ended, and there is no adviser. Kramer did not fit it into the format of others, wanting to emphasize that this is nothing more than a humorous tale designed to dilute the gloomy tone of the narrative. The presence of a certain “priest” in it confirms this conjecture - inquisitors and witch hunters eagerly made fun of low priest priests.

Researchers often portray the Inquisitors as the embodiment of evil — gloomy psychopaths who have been delighted to see the suffering of innocent people. However, the realities of that time should be taken into account here. Kramer and his colleagues lived when the witch hunt was not out of the ordinary, and to kill the "witch" meant solving many problems that she allegedly caused. These were ordinary unenlightened people who, like everyone else, loved to drink, eat, and let go of a dirty joke.

A treatise on the fight against witchcraft, written in 1486 by the inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. It was the “Hammer of the Witches” that caused the mass persecution of the Inquisition against individuals suspected of having dark forces.

The book consists of three parts, each of which is aimed at solving a specific problem. Its influence on European minds turned out to be so great that the Pope himself issued a bull “With all the forces of the soul”, calling for the destruction of witches and sorcerers. In total, during the witch hunt, which lasted about two centuries, more than one hundred thousand processes took place, as a result of which at least 50 thousand people were injured. The majority of victims were in Germany, France and Switzerland. Even in America there were several high-profile processes, for example, events in a town called Salem.

The history of witch trials is rooted in antiquity. Two thousand years BC The Hammurabi Code demanded the death penalty for witchcraft.

The book by Kramer and Sprenger was fairly well structured. In the first part, built in the form of questions and answers, it was proved in detail that witchcraft actually exists, that witches are directly connected with evil forces, and their atrocities are monstrous and unforgivable. Here, witches are credited with human sacrifices, eating babies and many other monstrous acts. The first part of The Hammer of the Witches was intended to arouse maximum hatred of sorcerers and witches both among church authorities and secular ones.

The second part is devoted to a detailed description of all the ways that witches can harm people, as well as methods to counter witchcraft, which, in particular, are pilgrimage, repentance, prayers and exorcisms. This section of the book lists the categories of people against whom witches are powerless, and deals with cases of using witchcraft by sex.

The last execution of a woman on official charges of witchcraft occurred in Switzerland in 1782, but witches became victims of lynching later.

The concluding part of The Witch's Hammer is a code describing the technology for conducting trials of women convicted or suspected of witchcraft. It lists the methods of collecting evidence necessary and the categories of possible witnesses, as well as the grounds on which this or that decision is made.

The book is actually a detailed instruction on the trial, and it is designed in such a way that a conviction does not cause any difficulties. Kramer questions the effectiveness of the various trials that traditionally tested women for involvement in witchcraft, leaving them to decide on the guilt personally to the judge.

This is the most famous treatise on demonology, written back in the Middle Ages. The authorship of this work belongs to two German monks of the Dominican Order, Jacob Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer. The exact date of writing the treatise is 1486. Both of these monks were ardent "witch hunters", for this very reason, "The Hammer of the Witches" is the darkest work of all similar publications. During the heyday of the Inquisition, this book was a must-read for every opponent of heresy.

The treatise included collections of all the legends and legends about witches and black magic known at that time. The work was approved by Pope Innocent VIII and officially became the inquisitors' handbook. The book was written in a language that is widely understood and, in addition to church approval, received judicial approval. It consisted of rules and tips for the destruction of witches, compiled on the basis of knowledge of the demonology of that period and church knowledge. The guide to the persecution of witches was presented in three parts.

The first part of The Witch's Hammer consisted entirely of speculations about the dangers of witchcraft and its danger to society. This was considered a serious crime and was punishable by death. Also in this part, a classification of witches was given with their division into three types: those who only harm and impose curses, witches who are able to heal, and witches combining both of these abilities. In support of the witches' guilt, any testimonies that even criminals, prostitutes, and other persons excommunicated from the church could give were used.

The second part of the treatise is the most extensive and contains descriptions of ways of witch wrecking, as well as ways to recover from this wrecking. Separately mentioned is the category of persons on whom the witch's spell does not work. These are the Inquisitors, as well as people who are guarded by holy water, willow branches, salt and other holy objects. Separately, the treatise describes the activities of male sorcerers. Many chapters describe witches' sexual intercourse, love witchcraft, seduction against the will, and other "tricks." Also described are cases of werewolf, transferring objects from place to place, the management of natural elements and more. As a deliverance from such phenomena, pilgrimage to holy places and prayers are recommended. If the witchcraft was very strong, then only the death of the witch who cast the spell can save him.

The third part of the book is fully devoted to the legal side of the prosecution and evidence of witches. The decision on the guilt of the witch could only be made by a judge, which actually meant a death sentence. Of course, before the trial, the accused would have been facing a torture chamber, where many admitted to being guilty of bullying and pain, even if they were innocent.

The Inquisition’s use of the Hammer of the Witches, built on prejudices and ornate phrases from church canons designed to obscure the voice of reason, at one time led to the persecution and death of thousands of innocent women.

There are moments in the history of any country that cannot be called bloody. Many would like to never know about them, but history cannot be forgotten or deleted, it must be known and, in spite of all the horrors of the past, be kept for posterity.

For many, the “Inquisition" is associated with witch hunts, brutal torture, and thousands of ruined lives. More than 500 years have passed since its activity, but this is not a reason to forget about her or her “job description” - “Hammer of the Witches”.

Who wrote “Hammer of the Witches”

The Witch's Hammer first appeared in 1486 in Speyer. The authors of this terrible masterpiece were two Dominican monks Heinrich Institoris (Heinrich Kramer) and Jacob Sprenger. They were ardent exposers of heretics, but they themselves did not differ in the righteousness of life, which is why residents of the city and region often filed complaints against them with the bishops. It is difficult to imagine which demons prompted them to write a book, which later became the main printed work on demonology, and the authors themselves believed that they were fulfilling God's plan “Do not leave the messes alive” (Exodus, 22:18).

The question arises: how could such a terrible work become the second Bible for clergy and the Inquisition as a whole? The Inquisition was formed in 1204, it conducted investigations and identified heretics. According to the law of that time, the priests of the Inquisition had the right to appropriate all the property of convicted heretics, after their execution. The Inquisition worked diligently for the glory of the church and pretty quickly destroyed the largest heretical sects, voids formed in the treasury that needed to be filled with something. To do this, I had to look for new sources of income, the Inquisition was a well-functioning “machine” with enormous power, it was impossible to stop it. A new source was found very quickly - the witch hunt began. And in order to correctly identify a witch or a sorcerer, the treatise “Hammer of the Witches” was very useful.

The terrible treatise is divided into three main parts, which are divided into several chapters. His authenticity was confirmed by Pope Innocent VIII himself, in order to crush the rebellion against the witch hunt.

• The first part of the book tells about the existence of three forces: the sorcerer and the devil and God. In all the intrigues, the devil is helped by people who are sorcerers and witches, God knows about this, but treats this connivingly. That is why clergy and true believers should be wary of witchcraft and the strange actions of neighbors or relatives. One of the chapters tells about female beauty and mind, supposedly they were granted by the devil himself for the temptation and corruption of believers. Midwives also fell into disgrace, it was believed that after childbirth and the birth of a child, they promise him to Satan, or even sacrifice him.
• The second part of the terrible treatise talks about witchcraft itself and how you can protect yourself from it or remove it altogether. The authors did their best, in this part of the book is not just a theory, but a practical presentation of many rituals. The second part also tells about people who are not subject to the spell of witches: inquisitors, witch hunters and people, they are guarded by angels and sacred rites. Here you can read about male sorcerers.
• In the third part of The Hammer of the Witches, the authors went wild. In the smallest details, they described the procedures for identifying witches, bringing charges, obtaining confessions. Persuasion, threats, promises and torture - thanks to them all the accused gave confession.

Mostly young beautiful girls who had many envious people suffered, anyone and a poor peasant woman and a wealthy, noble lady could blame for witchcraft. In small villages, almost all women were recognized as witches, sometimes only one survived. In Geneva, 500 witches were burned in three months, while in Savoy the number of executed persons exceeded 800. The Inquisition began the hunt for women, and the main "Bible" in this matter was the "Hammer of the Witches." The total number of executed across Europe is difficult to calculate, according to data that were recorded, their number exceeded 100 thousand people.