Station: [302] Der Hexenhammer – Malleus Maleficarum

The witch hammer - Malleus Maleficarum The idea for writing the witch hammer came about when Kramer failed with an inquisition in Innsbruck in the Diocese of Bressanone. In response to this defeat, he wrote his treatise to strengthen his position and justify the persecution of his opponents. He was under pressure of time, which is clear from numerous errors in the numbering of chapters, questions and cross-references. Kramer spread the witch's hammer (Malleus Maleficarum) more than 30,000 times through book printing, and this book has been proven to kill more than 60,000 women. To give authority to his work, he named Jacob Sprenger as co-author. When Sprenger saw that he had contributed to this book, he distanced himself publicly from the book and Kramer. The witch hammer was divided into 3 parts. In the first part Kramer defines what is meant by a witch. Occasionally, although he speaks of male wizards, he mainly refers to the female sex. In his opinion, women are more prone to black magic than men. They were already disadvantaged in creation because God created Eve out of Adam's rib. Gender equality, which is described in the first part of Genesis, ignored Kramer because it did not fit his reasoning. He also accused the women of deficits in the faith.