Reading witchcraft: writing or rewriting of this belief in the Malleus Maleficarum

Abstract

This article keeps on delving into the treatise entitled Malleus Maleficarum, written by the German inquisitors Institoris and Sprenger (following a previous research which developed a first foray into this text), as it is the cornerstone of the interpretation –or reinterpretation– of witchcraft in the late 15th century. As it was proved in our previous research, many exempla cataloged as fictional stories can be found in the Malleus. So, we can corroborate that this and other treaties and manuals for inquisitors can be used as raw material from which we can rescue dozens of fictional stories. On this occasion, we will complete our analysis on the ‘Hammer of the Witches’ from another perspective: the writing or rewriting of witchcraft that this book develops; the creation or recreation of a great story built from oral tradition, the confessions of the victims and those accused, and the intermediaries who gave this information to the authors.