Books
Edited by May 26, 2002 8:40 am
This file is for books that we have in our collection and for book reviews.
The list of Books are as followed:
Aradia or the Gospel of the Witches - Charles G. Leland [1899]
The Encyclopedia of WitchCraft & Demonology - Rossell Hope Robbins
I-Ching: The Book of Changes - James Legge, translator (1882)
The Mabinongion - Translated from the Welsh by Lady Charlotte Guest (1849)
(111 previous messages)
Edited by Dec 1, 2002 3:52 am
INNOCENT VIII, POPE
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Pope Innocent VIII (1484-92) issued one of the key documents in the history of witchcraft, the papal bull of December 5,1484, "Summis desiderantes affectibus [Desiring with the most profound anxiety]." "It fastened on European jurisprudence for nearly three centuries the duty of combating the Devil and saving mankind from his clutches...it served as justification for pitiless persecution." (Hansen)
Not until several centuries after the Canon Episcopi of A.D. 906, did the Popes begin to promulgate belief in witchcraft, expressly forbidden by this earlier canon. One of the first papal bulls was that of 1223 by Pope Gregory IX to the Dominican Conrad of Marburg, who, in effect (according to Montague Summers), introduced the Inquisition into Germany. Two bulls by Pope Alexander IV in 1258 and 1260 cautioned both Franciscans and Dominican inquisitors to distinguish witchcraft from heresy. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, almost every pope issued bulls against, sorcery, most of them against specified individuals or groups, for example: John XXII (1316-34); Benedict XII (1334-42); Gregory XI (1370-78); Alexander V (1409-10); Martin V (1417-31); Eugenius IV (1431-47); with four bulls; Nicholas V (1447-55); Calixtus III (1455-58); and Pipus II (1458-64). Only one of these bulls need be noted here, that of Eugenius IV in 1437 addressed to all inquisitors, which shows the growing belief in the varied aspects of maleficia, but which makes no mention of transvection, incubi, or the sabbat (perhaps first remared in papal bull in 1500 by Alexander VI).
Sixtus IV, refuting certain Carmelites was the first to equat sorcery and black magic positively with heresy, thereby facilitating the task of the witch hunters, in three bulls in 1473, 1478, and 1483.
Thus the bull of Innocent VIII follows a long line of apostolic letters condemning witches, but assumes far greater importamce than these earlier pronouncements because of the rapid spread of printing. As Sir Walter Scott said, "It rang the tocsin against this formidable crime." This bull was prefixed to the textbook of the two inquisitors Innocent VIII had appointed to Germany, Malleus Maleficarum [The Hammer of Witches]. Since this book went into new editions every few years, the letter of Innocent VIII had a circulation never before possible with earlier bulls. Furthermore, the previous bulls had been restricted to specific localities; the new one covered whole provinces.
In this respect, "Summis desiderantes affectibus" is a milestone that finally marked the reversal of the Canon Episcopi. This Canon was retained in Canon Law, however, and hence was a potential block to the inquisitors.
In this bull, the Pope complains that the work of his two Dominican inquisitors, Heinrich Kramer and Jakob Sprenger, lacked support because--a surprising admission--neither clergy nor laity were convinced of the extent and crime of witchcraft in Germany; hence, now, everyone will support their investigations, or else "upon him will fall the wrath of God Almighty."
Innocent VIII, Giovanni Battista Cibo (1432-92), a Genoese, took service under a cardinal, became a bishop by thirty-five, and by forty-one a cardinal himself. In August, 1484, he was elected Pope, and reigned until death. In his last months he kept alive by sucking milk from a woman's breasts. An attempt to rejuvenate him by blood transfusions resulted in deaths of three boys. Contemporary Catholic chroniclers (like Burchard) hold no brief for his character, noting that he kept a mistress by whom he had two children; he married the boy into the Medici family and the girl in his Papal treasurer. Such was the man who within a few months of his election started the inquisition against witches.
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The Bull of Pope Innocent VIII, printed in the second edition of the Malleus Maleficarum, about 1490 somewhere in southern Germany, which gave great prestige tot he inquisitors, Kramer and Sprenger, From Cornell University Library.
Picture omitted.
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THE BULL OF INNOCENT VIII
Innocent, bishop, servant of the servants of God, for a perpetual remembrance.
Desiring with the most profound anxiety, even as pastrol solicitude requires, that the Catholic Faith should especially in our time everywhere increase and flourish, and that all heretical depravity should be driven away from the territories of the faithful, we very gladly proclaim and even restate those particular means and methods whereby our Christian endeavor may be fulfilled; since, when all errors have been rooted out by our toil as with the hoe of a provident husbandman, a zeal for and devotion to our Faith may take hold all the more strongly on the hearts of the faithful.
It has recently ome to our attention, not without bitter sorrow, that in some parts of northern Germany, as well as in the provinces, townships, territories, districts, and dioceses of Mainz, Cologne, Treves, Salzburg, and Bremen, many persons of both sexes, unmindful of their own salvation and deviating from the Catholic Faith, have abused themselves with devils, incubi and succubi, and by their incantations, spells, conjurations, and other accursed superstitions and horrid charms, enormities and offenses, destroy
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the offsping of women and the young of cattle, blast and eradicate the fruits of the earth, the grapes of the live vine and the fruits of trees; nay men and women, beasts of burden, herd beasts, as well as animals of other kinds; also vinyards, orchards, meadows, pastures, corn, wheat and other cereals of the earth. Furthermore, these wretches afflict and torment men and women, beasts of burden, herd beasts, as well as cattle of all other kinds, with pain and disease, both internal and external; they hinder men from generating and women from conceiving; whence neither husbands with their wives nor wives with their husbands can perform the secual act. Above and beyond this, they blasphemously renounce that Faith which they received by the Sacrament of Baptism, and at the instigation of the Enemy of the human race they do not shrink from committing and perpetrating the foulest abominations and excesses to the peril of their souls, whereby they offend the Divine Majesty and are a cause of scandal and dangerous example to very many.
And although our beloved sons Heinrich Kramer [Institor] and Jackob Sprenger, Professors off Theology, of the Order of Friars Preachers, have been by Letters Apostolic delegated as inquisitors of these heretical depravities, and still are inquisitors, the former in the aforesaid parts of northern Germany, wherein are included those aforesaid provinces, townships, districts, dioceses, and other specified localities, and the latter in certain territories which border the Rhine, nevertheless not a few clerics and lay folk of those countries, seeking to know more than concerns them, since in teh aforsaid delegatory letters there is no express and individual mention by name of these provinces, townships, districts, dioceses, and other specified localities; and furhter since the tow delegates themselves and the abominations they are to encounter are not designated specifically and expressly, these persons are not ashamed to pertinaciously assert that these enormities are not practieced in these provinces, and conswequently the aforesaid inquisitors have no legal right to exercise their power of inquisition in the provinces, townships, districts, dioceses, and territories, which have been rehearsed, and that the inquisitors may not proceed to to punish, impresion, and correct those convicted of the offenses and wickednesses set forth. Accordingly, in the aforesaid provinces, townships, districts and dioceses, the abominations and enormities in question remain unpunished not without evident danger to their souls and loss of eternal salvation.
Wherefore we, as is our duty, desirous to remove all hindrances and obstacles whatsoever by which the work of the inquisitors may be impeded, as also to apply potent remedies to prevent the disease of heresy and other turpitudes diffusing their poison to the destruction of other innocent souls, as our position demands and marked by the greatest zeal for the Faith, lest the provinces, township, dioceses, districts and territories of those parts of northern Germany, which we have specified, be deprived of the benefits of the Holy office of the Inquisition thereby assigned, by the tenor of these presents by our apostolic authority, we decree and enjoin that hte aforesaid inquisitors bye empowered to proceed to the correction, imprisoment, and punishment of any persons for the said abominations and enormities, without let or hindrance, in every way as if the provinces, townships, dioceses, districts, territories, yea, even the persons and their crimes in this kind were named.
Moreover, for greater surety we extend these letters deputing this authority to cover all the aforesaid provinces, townships, dioceses, districts, and territories, and also persons, and crimes newly rehearsed, and we grant permission to the aforesaid inquisitors, to each separately or both, as also to our dear son John Gremper, priest of the diocese of Constance, Master of Arts, their notary [modernus], or to any other public notary, who shall be by them, or by one of them, temporarily delegated to these provinces, townships, dioceses, districts, and aforesaid territories, to proceed, according to the regulations of the Inquisition, against such person of whatsoever rank and high estate they may mulet, as their crimes merit, those whom they have found guilty.
Moreover, they shall enjoy a full and
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perfect faculty of expounding and preaching the word of God to the faithful, so often as opportunity may offer and it may seem good to them, in each and every parish church of the said provinces, and they shall freely and legally perform any rites or execute any business which may appear advisable in the aforesaid cases. By our supreme authority we grant them once again ful and complete faculities.
And by Letters Apostolic we require our venerable brother, the Bishop of Strasbourg, [Albrecht von Bayern], that he himself shall announce, or by some other or others cause to be announced, the substance of our bull, which he shall solemnly publish when and as often as he considers necessary or when he shall be requested to do so by the inquisitors or by one of them. Nor shall he permit them to be molested or hindered by any authority whatsoever, in disobedience to tenor of these letters presented, but he shall threaten all who hinder or harass or oppose the inquisitors, all rebels, of whatsoever rantk, estate, station, preeminence, dignity, excellence, or condition they may be, or whatsoever privilege or exemption they may claim, with excommunication, suspension, interdict, and yet more terrible penalties, censures, and punshiments, as many seem good to him, without any right of appeal, and also by our authority proceed to and heed these decisions as frequently as he pleases, calling in, if it is necessary, the help of the secular arm.
Let no obstacle whatever be set against these apostolic letters and ordinacnes. Let no man therefore in any way rashly oppose this page contrary to this declaration extending our authority and injunction. but if any man dare do so, let him know that on him will fall the wrath of God Almighty and the blessed Apostiles Peter and Paul.
Given at Rome, at St. Peter's on December 5 of the Year of the Incarnation of Our Lord one thousand four hundred and eighty-four, in the first year of our pontificate.
Inquisition
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Were it not for the inquisition, the Catholic tribunal charged with exposing and punishing religous unorthodoxy, not one person would have died for witchcraft. All later trails, secular and ecclesiastical, Protestant and Catholic, stem from early inquisitorial pattersn, culminating in the Bull of 1484 of Pope Innocent VIII.
When Christianity became the state church of the Roman Empire, the new religion extended and intolerance to which hitherto it had been subject. By A.D. 430 the civil code was ordering death for hersey, although such laws were not rigorously enforced unitl many centuries later. In 1144, Pope Lucius II was uncertain and unconcerned about the proper penalty for heresy.
More to come
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