Pope Issues Witch-Hunting Bull: The Malleus Maleficarum Follows
Heinrich Kramer had just been kicked out of Innsbruck for railroading witch trials. The bishop called him senile. So Kramer went straight to Rome and got Pope Innocent VIII to issue Summis desiderantes—a papal bull backing him and James Sprenger to hunt witches across Germany. The bull gave them full authority to ignore local clergy who thought the whole thing was absurd. Kramer published it as the preface to his Malleus Maleficarum two years later, the manual that would fuel witch hunts for two centuries. Over 50,000 executions followed across Europe. One bishop's "no" became 50,000 deaths because Kramer knew where to shop for a better answer.
December 5, 1484
542 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Germany
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papal bull
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Inquisition
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witchcraft
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Pope Innocent VIII
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Summis desiderantes
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Heinrich Kramer
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James Sprenger
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Pope
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Papal bull
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Witchcraft
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Inquisition
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Pope Boniface VIII
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Papal legate
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Pope Innocent VIII
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Pope Adrian IV
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Philip IV of France
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Pope Anastasius IV
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Summis desiderantes affectibus
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Heinrich Kramer
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Jacob Sprenger
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Sede vacante
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Caza de brujas
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Ausculta fili
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Inthronisation
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Hexenlehre
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Canon Episcopi
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Partikularkonzil
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