File spoon-archives/anarchy-list.archive/anarchy-list_2000/anarchy-list.0004, message 369


From: "Dave Coull" <dave.coull-AT-organise.ezesurf.co.uk>
Subject: Re: News Flash
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 12:43:55 +0100


I wrote about James the Sixth of Scotland and first king
of the UK

>> In fact, he was obsessed with witches, and not only did he
>> have quite a lot of women executed as witches, he also wrote
>> a book called the "Malleas Malificorum" , all about the threat
>> posed by witches, which led to witch-hunts throughout Europe,
>> and even in America (Salem) , in both protestant and Catholic
>> countries.

Catkawin responded

>certainly you're the best candidate for the title 
>of list historian, Dave

Aw, shucks.....

>but I remember that the aforementioned book was 
>written by two Dominicanian (? sp, w?) monks of Grrman 
>nationality, Heinrich Institoris and Jacob Sprenger

I have checked this out. T.C. Smout says "Jacob Sprenger
and Heinrich Krammer", and, apart from Heinrich's
last name, your version is a lot closer to that than mine.

King James did indeed write a book on witchcraft,
in response to sceptics who had expressed doubt 
that witches existed ; but it wasn't the  "Malleas 
Malleficorum", it was the   "Daemonologie" , which 
T.C. Smout describes as  "frightening and learned" , 
and which did, like the Malleas Malificorum, 
have an international effect.

>who else but Grrmans could have compiled a book 
>on how to detect witches, thoroughly and systematically, 
>with a lot of case files and descriptions how to torture 
>people?

Hey, be fair. Okay, so the Germans showed 
Teutonic thoroughness. But it took a Scot 
to provide the intellectual justification.

Dave

   

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