001 - The Hammer of the Witches

Welcome to the history of witchcraft. Episode 1. Many persons of both sexes, unmindful of their own salvation and straining from the Catholic faith have abandoned themselves to devils and by their incantations, spells, conjurations and other accursed charms and crafts have slain infants yet in their mother's womb, have blasted the produce of the earth, the grapes of the vine, the fruits of the trees, nay men and women beasts of burden, heard beasts as well as animals of other kinds. They blasphemous they renounce that faith which is theirs by the sacrament of baptism and at the instigation of the enemy of mankind they do not shrink from committing and perpetrating the foulest abominations and filthiest excesses to the deadly peril of their own souls. An excerpt from the people bull of innocent the eighth, 1484. Others think that after she has been consigned to a prison in this way, the promise to spare her life should be kept for a time, but that after a certain period she should be burned. Another opinion is that the judge may safely promise the accused her life, but in such a way that he should afterwards disclaim the duty of passing sentence on her, delegating another judge in his place. An excerpt from the Malius Maleficarum. For how many of the blind of the lame of the withered of those ensnared by diverse infirmities legally swear that they strongly suspect that infirmities of this kind both in general and in particular have been caused by witches. From the writings of Henrikus Instatorus, Dominic and Friar and Papal Inquisitor. If Instatorus does not withdraw with all speed, you father should say to him in my place that more than enough scandals have arisen because of his bad trial, and that he should not remain in his place, less than anything worse should follow from this or happen to him. An excerpt from a private letter from Bishop Golser Abrickson to a local priest in the aftermath of the Innsbruck Witch Trials. Welcome to the history of witchcraft, the podcast history of sorcery, magic and spells. My name is Samuel Hume and this podcast will attempt to string together the whole history of witchcraft, from ancient and classical periods through the medieval and early modern eras and into the modern day. The belief in magic in witchcraft has existed in every recorded human culture, a way to explain the inexplicable, to turn random acts of nature into conscious acts of mortal or supernatural beings, and in the worst cases to allow desperate communities to take revenge against the suspected perpetrators. This podcast attempts to understand the cultural motivations behind these beliefs. In the course of the podcast we shall see how various authorities and regions reacted to calls for witch trials, we shall hear the stories of particular victims of witch-hunts throughout history. The history of witchcraft is a history of fear, greed, envy and wrath, of superstition and of the worst parts of human nature. To me, that makes it a subject worth learning about, and if you agree then I invite you to join me in this history of witchcraft. This first episode will be devoted to arguably the most influential and certainly the most famous publication calling for the trials of witches, the Malius Malifakarum. As with most things that historians like to talk about, the importance of the Malius Malifakarum to the course of the early modern witch-hunts is disputed and debated. The text which translates to either the witch's hammer or the hammer of the witches was published in 1486 and remained in print throughout Europe and beyond until the modern day. While being disputed by scholars and theologians ever since its publication, going so far as to being publicly discredited by the Inquisition, the hammer of the witches was incredibly popular with the laity. With some sources putting the number of copies sold just below those of the Bible. Due to its importance for the later episodes, today's show will focus on the text itself as well as the individual's thought to have authored it. Heinrich Kramer, Latinised to Henrikus Instatoris, which is the name we will use, and Jacob Springer. Another scholarly debate is over the extent of Springer's involvement with the writing of the Malius with some historians simply ignoring him when discussing the text. Henrikus Instatoris was born around 1430 in the town of Schletzstad in Alsas, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1445 Instatoris entered the order of the Dominicans, and greatly benefited from the educational offer. Like all Dominicans, Instatoris studied the arts of debate, philosophy and logic, training him with the skills he would need as a Dominican friar. After this four-year course, Instatoris graduated with a Master of Arts in Theology. His education, however, did not end there. Showing particular merit, Instatoris was allowed to continue his learning, most likely in Cologne, and he aimed for a Master's of Theology, which took at least 14 years of study. This does not, however, mean that he spent all 14 years in Cologne. As a Dominican, he was expected to spend at least five years teaching before he could receive his degree. With Dr. Hans Brodell estimating that, "Instatoris spent at most three or four years in Cologne. The rest of his time spent travelling and preaching." Even while his career took him around Europe, he still found time to study, and achieved his Doctorate in Theology in 1479. The first notable brush with heresy that we know Instatoris had was in 1458, when he assisted in the trial and execution of the Valdensian bishop, Frederick Reiser. Just under a decade later, in 1467, Instatoris was appointed to a papal commission against the Hossite heretics in Bohemia and Eastern Germany, and appears to have wielded substantial power in this position. Rudolf, Bishop of Ratislava, papal Leggett, and the head of the papal commission in Storos was part of, delegated to Instatoris the power to remit people's sins and to grant indulgences. He also appeared to have the authority to place interdictions on recalcitrant heretics, as shown by a letter in 1471, when Instatoris agreed to lift such an interdict that he placed on the town of Lipsich. Instatoris must have made a very good impression of the powers that be. As in 1474, he became a papal inquisitor with a vast jurisdiction. Most inquisitors were assigned to a particular province or region, whereas Instatoris could practice his authority wherever he wanted, provided he had the permission of the pre-existing inquisitor if one was present. After four years, he was further promoted to the role of inquisitor for Upper Germany, a position to which he was renewed in 1482 alongside his future colleague Jakob Spręger. For a brief time, Instatoris was also appointed to the position of prior of the Dominican Convent to which he had first joined in Schletzlat, although he did resign from this position after only two and a half years, possibly to focus on his role as a papal inquisitor. Instatoris is zealotry against the enemies of Orthodoxy who was noteworthy even among the Dominicans. Alongside the usual targets of Heretics and Witches, Instatoris spoke out against the reforming figures within the Church, as well as the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, who he accused of infringing on the rights of the papacy. Such a stance, combined with his apparent success in his role as inquisitor, led to praise from his superiors. Pope Sixteres described Instatoris as a man who should be commended for his quote "zeal for religion, knowledge of letters, integrity of life, constancy of faith, and other praiseworthy virtues and merits" end quote. However, not everyone was quite so wowed by the stubborn inquisitor. I just mentioned that Instatoris had spoken out against the Emperor. What I should have said is that Instatoris slandered throughout her 8th referred, who was of course not best pleased, and when Instatoris was proposed as a papal inquisitor in 1474, he was on the brink of being jailed. Only the support of the Master General of the Dominicans, as well as the Pope, saved him from this fate. Instatoris had a talent for causing strife among his fellows, as well as the secular authorities. A year into his role as inquisitor, Instatoris was involved in a dispute with two other Dominican friars over the theft of some money, a dispute which does not appear to have been fully resolved as four years later, Insta always brought. charges of slander against his opponents within the order. More significant issues arose in 1482 when the Inquisitor was suspected of embezzling funds collected to fight the Turkish expansion in the Balkans. Despite claiming that they were only resting in his account, Instataurus was ordered to roam to explain himself under threat of excommunication, imprisonment, and the stripping of his wealth and titles. Sadly, the result of the inquiry is unknown, but Instataurus was clearly not convicted of anything serious as he was back on duty within the year. However, no one ever trusted him with financial matters again. It is possible that these difficulties led to his prickly personality, one that rejected any form of criticism, slight or serious as a means of defense against his numerous enemies. His attitude, while making him a nightmare to work with, did not interfere too much with his career as he kept his position as inquisitor until the day he died, which is most likely in 1505. By 1480, Instataurus focused more and more on the dangers presented by witchcraft, and began a vigorous round of prosecutions of the crime. In 1490, he claimed that he'd been responsible for the conviction and execution of over 200 witches, although this is more than likely exaggeration. While he was most certainly involved in numerous trials of which we know little, the only two that have substantial evidence are the trials of Ravensburg and Innsbruck, in 1484 and 1485 respectively. In Ravensburg, Instataurus arrived and immediately began to preach against witchcraft. His preaching worked, and the towns folk accordingly denounced Hexen, a number of people were arrested, and in the end, eight women were burned at the stake. In Ravensburg, he had received the expected support from the authorities, but there was still some resistance to the expansion of Inquisitorial activity. As such, with the witch threat dealt with, Instataurus returned to Rome to gain further authority for his activities. By this point, Pope Sixters IV had been succeeded by Innocent the Eighth, who was just as supportive as his predecessor. Innocent provided Instataurus with a papal bull, a declaration of the Holy Seas will, which expressed the true danger of witchcraft and demanded that all Christian authorities assisted his inquisitors in prosecuting these heretics. Failing to do so would lead to Hex communication. Six months later, the Pope wrote to both the Archduke of Austria, Sigismund, and the Archbishop of Mainz, thanking them for their support, but requesting that they continue supporting Instataurus, as well as providing him with protection from retaliation for his actions in Ravensburg. Clearly, not everyone was pleased with his method of doing God's work. After receiving the papal bull, Instataurus returned to Germany, stopping off at Innsbruck, capital city of the Tirol region. Innsbruck was an important town, both in terms of trade, as well as its position as the home of the Archduke of Austria. Instataurus claimed that their region was full to the brim with witches, and so he began his work there. But it is just as likely that he was simply eager to get started since Tirol was the first stop on the road from Rome within his jurisdiction. As was right and proper, Instataurus presented himself to the local bishop, a man named Golsa, and requested his consent and support for his activities. This was more than likely a full-gone conclusion. Instataurus had clear support from the Pope, and so the bishop was unlikely to refuse the inquisitors' requests, despite Golsa's personal opinion that Instataurus was senile and unhinged. The papal bull was distributed throughout the region, offering an indulgence of 40 days for those who would denounce any witches. In concert with this reward, leaflets and posters were published around churches and town halls, demanding that anyone with knowledge of witchcraft come forward, threatening both secular and spiritual punishment for those who did not. This carrot and stick approach would later be recommended in the Malias as common practice. At this point, Instataurus' investigation showed none of the normal traits of his prosecutions. There was no mention of "sitanic pacts" or intercourse with the devil. Instead, Instataurus focused solely on the misfortunes caused by witchcraft, as well as the rumours about members of the community with a reputation for sorcery. People were advised to come to Instataurus, and I quote, "If anyone knows, has seen or heard that any person is suspected of being a heretic in which, and particularly of practicing things which do harm to people, cattle all the throats of the earth." Throughout his time in Innsbruck, Instataurus preached to the masses about the dangers, signs, and protections against witchcraft, and combined with the propaganda from both the inquisitors and the authorities, a vast amount of testimony was soon available. On this, the findings were narrowed down to a total of 50 people being addicted for witchcraft. So far so good, right? Well, for reasons unexplained, Instataurus then delayed proceedings for three weeks, before revealing a second list of suspects only 14 persons long. Some of these suspects were on the original list, but new names were included, and with this in hand, Instataurus began his trials. The interrogation of one of these suspects, Helena Schuberlin, has thankfully been preserved with a relatively large amount of detail. We know that Helena was an outspoken woman, who had no qualms about speaking her mind, which was not the best thing in a 15th century German woman. The formal charges that had landed her in front of Instataurus and the Innsbruck noobbles state that, after passing Instataurus in the street, she spat at him and declared, quote, "The one you you bad monk may the falling evil take you." To make matters worse, in Instataurus' eyes at least, Helena had avoided his sermons against witchcraft and suggested that others do the same. The one sermon she did attend involved her loudly declaring that Instataurus was an evil man doing the devil's work. Can we guess how well that went down, with the self-aggrandizing, holier than thou, heretic hating inquisitor? Not helping, Helena's case was her reputation for sorcery. She mingled with other suspected heretics, had supposedly second another woman in order to have an affair with her husband, and was rumoured to have murdered a knight she'd once been spurned by, through magical poison. In a trial headed by Instataurus, this was an open and shut case. Helena would soon find herself on the pyre. Except, Instataurus appears to have taken this case to prove his own theories about the nature of witches generally. For him, she was a testament to the immorality that was always tied to witchcraft, a woman who did not know her place was rumoured to be promiscuous and capable of malafisium. Instataurus decided that he would begin the trial by questioning Helena about her sexual history, in such detail that it made his fellows blush before Bishop Gouls' representative demanded he cease this line of questioning. Instataurus then questioned Helena about her testimony, but conducted himself in such a manner that the other commissioners called a halt to proceedings out of offence. When they reconvened, Instataurus was horrified to discover that a new addition had been made to the court, a lawyer. Imagine that the defendant getting legal advice in a fight for her life. Well I never. The lawyer, Johann Merway, began to point out the myriad of faults Instataurus was making in this case and demanded the charges be dismissed. All fourteen of the insbrux suspects were released, which made Instataurus very cross indeed. Instataurus was certainly of the mind that female sexuality was anextricably linked to witchcraft, hence the prevalence of women in his trials as well as the focus on women in the Malias. This was just obvious to the inquisitor, but had led to his efforts being squandered when the rest of the commission, who he was meant to work alongside, had found his line of reasoning seriously flawed. Not wanting to listen to others, Instataurus remained an insbrux for months, collecting evidence and harassing suspects and witnesses, even attempting at one point to kidnap a witch or two on his own. It was around this time that Golsa had enough, advising Instataurus that he was unable to ensure his safety if he kept being such a nuisance. Intermediaries reached out to Instataurus to beg him to just leave, just go away and stop being a menace, but the stubborn inquisitor only left after Golsa, rather bluntly, told Instataurus that "he was to do nothing further in his diocese, save leave it." Instataurus left insbrux full of angry citizens, angry officials, an angry bishop, and as Hans Brodell put it, "a thoroughly perplexed archduke who hired two prominent doctors of law to explain this whole witchcraft business to him once and for all." This was the time when Instataurus began to write the Malias Malafakaram. If those fancy lawyers with their rules were going to interfere in his trials with their laws and their procedures, he would make his own, which is oddly admirable in its own, stubborn, misogynistic way. This is when Jacob Spranger enters our story, again. Spranger was an esteemed academic and theologian, much more so than Instataurus ever was, even before words spread about his conduct in Innsbruck. Like Instataurus, Spranger had joined the Order at a young age, and in 1468 he was lecturing at the University of Cologne, even as he worked on his masters. By 1478 he was a professor in theology, and two years later he was dean of the faculty. He had spearheaded the cult of the Rosary in Germany, after having a vision from the Virgin Mary exorping him to do so. Spranger had been elected to numerous important and notable positions within the Dominican Order, and in 1481 became an inquisitor in the upper-righten area, working alongside Instataurus. Their working relationship was not a great one, as Instataurus' reputation for difficulty made him few friends. Spranger's career was much more respectable than Instataurus', who ruffled feathers wherever he went and had a tarnished past. The whole "embezzlement" thing hadn't really gone away. How much input Spranger truly had in the Malias is debated, he seems to have written in the preface of the text, but the rest reads as the same style of writing and appears much more in line with Instataurus' personal beliefs, as shown in his behaviour, than it does Spranger. Hans Peter Rodel, whose book "Malias Malafakaram" in the construction of witchcraft, has provided much of the contents of this episode, argues that Spranger's involvement was certainly much less than Instataurus', whereas other historians such as Christopher McKay, who was authored a brilliant translation of the Malias into English, is quite scathing in his arguments against the idea that Instataurus wholly fabricated Spranger's involvement. Regardless of who wrote what? In 1486 the manuscript was complete, and so Instataurus sought to give his new codecs a seal of approval from an academic institution. He found such approval from members of the same faculty as Spranger at the University of Cologne, with four members signing that the first two parts of the text were in line with sound Catholic philosophy, and that the third part was an acceptable procedure for future witchcraft trials. A second endorsement came from many more signatories, but was much more vague in its praise, not referring to the Malias at all, actually, just commending Instataurus for his zeal and praising the Inquisition's efforts against the threat of witchery. Whether or not some or all of these academic endorsements were forged is still debated. Instataurus then inserted the papal bull of 1484, misrepresenting Pope Innocence words, which had been strictly related to the specific inquisitorial investigation that he was in the process of conducting, as a full endorsement of the entire text. Going further, Instataurus requested the support of Maximilian, the future emperor, although he doesn't provide the actual text. Leading to Professor Wolfgang Badinger to surmise that Maximilian's response was too negative to spin, even for Instataurus, and so he simply implied that the future emperor had agreed with his work. So when Malias went to print, it appeared to have the endorsement of the highest secular, ecclesiastical, and academic authorities in Christendom. The fact that these supposed supporters quickly distanced themselves from the Roganquisitor, and that many of the Malias' procedures were directly contradictory to standard legal practice, did not stop the book selling like hotcakes. The Malias Malifakarum presented witchcraft as a worldly struggle between good and evil. Church doctrine had always considered it a grievous sin, but definitions of Malifissium had always been vague and often contradictory, and it had never been seen as a true crisis set to overturn society. For many clergymen, the sin of witchcraft was in the belief in its power. Such belief detracted from the omnipotence of God and so was heretical. The Malias, however, declared that witchcraft was indeed real and had real power over the world. Having suitably defended its position, the Malias Malifakarum then explained how witchcraft took place, what the signs were, and what defenses were available against sorcery. The third section gave investigators a thorough guide to how to identify those guilty of witchcraft, the best way of interrogating them to admit their crimes in reveal others, and what their punishments should be. In regards to defining witchcraft, the Malias Malifakarum explicitly describes the definition of the crime. Other than any garden variety curse or charm, Malifissium was solely caused by the devil through cooperation with a mortal witch. The authors make clear that the devil can, with God's permission, create a terrible storm or cause an expectant mother to miscarry on his own, but that he finds it much more convenient to use a witch. Contrarily, if someone was proven to be a witch, then they had to be in compact with the devil. They had no other source of their power, and so once it was proven that someone had conducted Malifissium, it also proved their bond with the enemy of mankind. An example used by Spranger in Instatoris was the evil eye, the fascinum or fascinatio, which brought bad luck and misery upon its targets. While acknowledging that the gaze of certain persons, such as old or menstruating women, to confer ill-effects, this power was strengthened immeasurably with the assistance of demons. The witch of the Malias Malifakarum was a creature like none before. Despite what the preface might say, the text is not merely a collection of previous writings, but is a unique composite of the witch, seen by theologians, the witch of folktales, and whichever anti-social, maligned or vulnerable member of society that had been dragged before the inquisitors. Both Instatoris and Spranger were qualified academics in their own right and fully understood the importance of citing their work. As such, the text can barely manage a sentence without quoting a fragment of supporting scripture or the works of various saints and scholars beyond reproach. As should come as no surprise, the vast majority of these quotations are misrepresented or outright fabricated. And with supporting words from the Church fathers, as well as their own experiences, the authors attempt to deal with every argument against their definition of witchcraft that they can possibly think of, leading to responses varying from, as Brutal Potsett, "Turse unsatisfying dismissals to lengthy and confusing bouts of jargon-filled debate." Instatoris' focus on the sexual activity of Helena Schuberton is justified in the Malias. A variety of reasons are given for why witches tended to be female. That women are more easily convinced of anything, and so demons find much more success in manipulating women. That women talk too much and spill their secrets and have to resort to sorcery to silence who they told. That women are more likely to come down with dysentery, making them feverish and therefore I quote "more quickly offer children to the demons," and quote "which is one hell of a fever." The most repeated claim in the text is that women are all driven by carnal lust, and since the devil thrives on such passions a bond is simple to make between a would-be witch and Satan. The lust of women leads them to partner with the devil and bear his demonic children, granting them power in return. They are then driven by lust to gain new lovers and to punish old ones and use their newly gained powers to do so. This effectively justifies inquisitors to prosecute particularly promiscuous women on the grounds that they are most likely in league with the devil. Witches are ascended in interfering with the bearing of children, either by breaking up previously happy relationships or by causing abortions in women or impotence in men, with the intention that they can use the fallout to gain a new lover. For Instataurus and Springer the most evil and dangerous of all witches were midwife witches. They specialised in abortions and regularly stole away newborns to be sacrificed to the devil, given to demons to be corrupted or just eating them themselves. One of the more interesting punishments inflicted by witches on their lovers is brilliantly described by Brodall, so I'm going to take the liberty of reading his exact wording. One of the most alarming of these impediments is a witch's ability to cause a man's penis, to vanish into fin air, so that he can see and feel nothing except his smooth body uninterrupted by any member. This is the sort of thing that chronically happens to adulterers who are not sufficiently attentive to their mistress's needs or worse who abandon them entirely, thus provoking vengeance. Fortunately, as the authors reveal, the loss of one's penis is only one of the devil's illusions and not a real transformation. Although this is unlikely to be of much comfort to those afflicted since, as they go on to say, the condition is generally permanent. despite acknowledging that witches had the ability to do terrible things. Instatoris and Spranger make it clear that they are not all-powerful. Since they can only conduct their crimes with the permission of God, certain people fall under his protection, such as conveniently enough clergymen, saints, and inquisitors. The rights of the Church provide similar supernatural protection from their spells, while the influence of celestial bodies can also shield individuals from the power of witchcraft. The only noted is the fact that people like Instatoris and Spranger, the magistrates and inquisitors that conduct the trials and executions of witches, are almost never bewitched. The authors suggest that this may be due to the protection of God, or even the willing involvement of the devil, who strips a witch of her powers just when she needs them the most to prevent her damnation. The third section of the text is advice for the prosecutors of witchcraft and relies on their acceptance of the previous two sections to be effective. Once a prosecutor accept the author's definition of witchcraft, as well as the signs of witchcraft, they can make use of the procedures given in this section. As such, particular focus is given to the sexual habits of the accused, finding out if they're honest men and women. To be an adulterer, or an otherwise single woman, was much more suspect than one happily married. If a woman found herself in the dock for witchcraft and did not cry for one reason or another, this was itself a suspicious event. Since women were, according to Instatoris and Spranger, much more attuned with their emotions, the stress of a trial should make them cry. Tears were a gift from God, a gift that had been stripped away from those guilty of witchcraft. So being unable to cry during a trial for your life and freedom was damning evidence of your guilt. On the topic of the defence of the accused, the Malius explains that, "If the defendant demands an advocate, they can be provided one. However, they cannot choose their own, as that advocate may be bribed or otherwise convinced to commit defending their client." The Malius describes these sort of lawyers as "letigious, evil-spirited persons" by which it means "those willing to use the law to defend their clients." Awful people aren't they? Instead, the judge should appoint a "opright person" who is not suspected of being fussy about "legal niceties." The Malius goes so far as to state that those that "strived to conduct the proceedings falsely" end quote, which it takes to mean as "doing anything at all that prevents the trial being "summary straightforward and informal" end quote, is himself at risk of being accused of heresy. The involvement of a lawyer in the defence of a suspected witch was to be avoided as often as possible, but when it could not be, they should be given an advocate that was not committed to their defence. If the accused is unwilling to admit their guilt and the prosecutors strongly suspect that they are in fact guilty, then torture is to be conducted, and the Malius provides a strict process for this. First, the accused is informed that they will be tortured if they do not tell the truth. If this threat does not work, they are taken away and detained, while the friends and companions of the accused are gathered. These people are then told the gravity of the crimes that the accused is on trial for, and that a willful confession could avoid the death penalty. These companions would then enter the cell where the accused is held and besiege them to admit their crimes. If this does not work, then the torture begins, although there is still deception to be done. The accused is stripped and prepared for torture. The Malius prefers the use of the Strapada, where the accused have their arms tied behind their back and are suspended from the floor, normally leading to dislocated shoulders and if left long enough death. After being prepared for torture, a performance takes place by those in attendance. They act unwilling and upset, and before torture has inflicted the accused's ordered release and again beg to confess freely. This brush with torture, combined with the promise that their lives will be spared, could bring about a confession. At which point their lives would likely not be spared after all. If this did not work, torture begins, and the Malius insists that torture must be by, quote, the usual methods rather than novel or newfangled ones end quote. The questions were to begin with the lesser charges, as they are more likely to be admitted to than the heavier ones. But once admissions of lesser guilt have been made, greater crimes are then more easily confessed to. If this does not provide an appropriate confession, then harsher implements of torture are brought in in front of the accused, with the threat that they will be used on them if they do not admit their crimes. In order to have the accused reveal their conspirators, they were often promised that they would not be executed if they denounced others. Only to follow through with the burning once new suspects were incarcerated. For those who actually received the clemency promised, they were not to be released, or sent into exile as they would have been made to expect. If imprisonment on a diet of water and bread was to be there lot, something the Malius makes clear should not be revealed to the prisoner until their trials were over. The Malius is full of legal loopholes. For example, it was not legal in the Holy Roman Empire to repeat torture unless new evidence appeared. So the Malius states that repeated sessions of torture were not repeated sessions. They were simply continuations from the last session, skirting around that rule. Also, a legal requirement was that any confessions made on the torture be confirmed without it. The Malius suggests threatening the accused with fervor torture if they refused to repeat their confession without it. The Malius repeatedly states that if the trial had been conducted by the church, either by a local bishop or a papal inquisitor, those sentenced to death were to be handed over to the secular authorities, as the church was not able to conduct executions itself. The method of execution is shown in the image of the history of witchcraft podcast, to be burned at the stake. Generally speaking, and there are exceptions that we will come across in future episodes, convicted witches were punished under the laws designed for unrepentant and relapsed heretics, with some differences in procedure. The Malius refers to a practice where witches were carried in a basket or wagoned to their place of execution, stepping from the transport directly onto the pyre without being allowed to touch the ground. The reason for this was said to be that a witch's power could return to her if she stepped on the floor, allowing her to escape or to curse those sending her to burn. As previously mentioned, Instator was continued his work until his death in 1505, while Springer had suddenly died 10 years prior in 1495. Although both had a number of publications to their names, it is the witch hunter's manual for which they are best known today. However, this fame was far from immediate. The procedures in the Malius were not adopted unmasked by their fellow inquisitors, and there are references to the church outright banning the use of the text by 1490, just a few years after publication. Even in the author's usual stomping ground of Germany, the text provoked no fresh prosecutions against witches, despite the claims presented in the Malius that witches were everywhere and a significant danger to Christendom. However, over the next two centuries, as Europe was blanketed in the smoke of burning witches, the Malius Malafakaran would become a popular foundation for demonologists and witch hunters to support their actions and guide their procedures. Thank you for listening to this episode of The History of Witchcraft. If you've enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving me a positive review on iTunes, Stitcher or whichever podcast app you use. You can visit the website at thehistoryofwitchcraft.co.uk where you will find my contact details if you have any questions. The show also has a Facebook page and a Twitter feed if you want to keep up to date. The intro and outro music have been provided by sounds like an airfall. Thank you again for listening. [Music]