Witchcraft - Malleus Maleficarum - The Hammer of Witches - History and Analysis of the Inquisition

The Malleus Maleficarum or "Hammer of Witches" is the most important and infamous of all demonological and witch-hunting manuals in European history. This scholastic textbook details at length the nature, detection and eradication of what it took to be a diabolical, heretical sect of sorcery which served as nothing short of the final putsch on the part of Satan before the Apocalypse itself. In this episode I deep dive into the terrifying world of the Inquisition to better understand this most infamous work and the minds that produced it.
#witches #witchtrials #wicca
Recommended Readings:
Mackay - The Hammer of Witches - 978-0521747875
Malleus Maleficarum 2 Volume Set - 978-1107642393
Levak - Witchcraft Sourcebook - 978-1138774971
Kors & Peters - Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700: A Documentary History - 978-0812217513
Nider - Formicarius - archive.org/de...
Eymeric - Directorium Inquisitorum - archive.org/de...

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

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[@franciscoflores3231]

Is your content on Patreon different to the one on KZbin?

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

@@franciscoflores3231 Not really - the only main difference is being able to have direct access to me...FWIW and monthly Zoom hangouts. Patreon is basically if you feel that supporting making the production of this kind of content and having direct access to me and early access to episodes.

[@Nikp117]

Have you covered the Apocalypse of Adam? If not, would you consider it?

[@krispalermo8133]

Due to the murderous over acting of German Christians fundamentalism with their Protestant wars and witch hunting, .. then WW II. Other than the view of human nature does not really change over time, kind of makes me stop and wonder how brutal German pagans were in their views. They as a people just carry their family tribal bias over from one religion to the next. Then after two world wars and the past current century of records show that only around 5% to 3% of a given military personal are prone to committing by our current standers to be war crimes. I just save a five paragraph essay on the USA behavior of ignorant people just using religion or politics as a justification to do violence to another on claims of .. otherness. I have been in more than a few fist fights in factories over low I.Q. people using the bible or " Punch as Nazi," as an excuse to punch someone. These people don't even really know what a Nazi is, it is just a political excuse to call someone that who disagree with them. I have seen a few Jewish co-workers get called a Nazi when they were politely calling a person out on witch bashing saying atheist conservative republicans are Satanists. Well, some people are not help with their life unless they are loudly slandering another.

[@danu6718]

You demystify so much. Every presentation you do is just full of the best information. This is fascinating.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Glad you think so!

[@danu6718]

@@TheEsotericaChannel You are the go to person when it comes to these subjects. I have been recommending your channel to whoever I know who likes these subjects. I love how your thought flows, I love the way you speak and teach these wonderful subjects and I love my Friday evenings starting off with Esoterica. Thank you very much, Justin.

[@DidaMinecraft]

"Freud help us out brother." Great job giving us insight on the work good sir, quite thorough. Touche

[@TheErosNorth]

When I read the Malleus Maleficarum, the part that most surprised me was the section on Witch Archers that contained a story almost exactly like the legend of William Tell. It seemed like the authors were trying to make William Tell out to be a witch archer.

[@DonPeyote420]

maybe the legend of Wilhelm Tell was based on an older magical story

[@carolleepirro278]

I am so grateful that I found your channel. It's like being back in college I especially appreciate your sense of humor

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@StatusUnkown]

At first, months ago, I was kind of afraid to dive into your works and knowledge, now I'm seeing the benefits and I'm shedding delusions❤ keep em coming, I'll keep growing❤

[@darkartsbyadrienne]

A thorough examination of Kramer's period and (possible) motivation for his creation of the Malleus. Very excited to learn much in the coming series, as I already have with the Excellent Kabbalah lectures. They are singly the most comprehensive, most interesting take I've ever had access to, and that's saying something for someone who's an arcane knowledge KZbin junkie with (way) too many half-read books. This channel has done the best job of presenting solid and thoughtful information on a wide array of esoteric subjects. Can't find enough adjectives to accurately demonstrate how stoked I am!!

[@anthonyarcanumsanctumregnu9551]

I'm hooked on KZbin and Occult books for years already, Everything from Kabbalah other High Magick systems to Traditional witchcraft etc, once we jump down that rabbit hole and are serious about it it truly Is a life time study.

[@src3360]

I no longer feel alone with my shelves of half read books... Ive found my people 🤘

[@darkartsbyadrienne]

@@src3360 that is exactly how I feel. I didn't know how exhausted I was with so much until Esoterica. It was like a renewal. Like more energy. I wish I had found it sooner, but I'm so grateful it's here. This is the first time anything esoteric has made sense and become meaningful. It's also the first time I haven't felt stupid being drawn to the esoteric, because people can barely justify an interest in history, let alone philosophy, so flipping forget esotericism... But the (our) esoteric predecessors were the quirky outside-the-box-ers who were asking questions that got the rest of us thinking. They were unruly, borderline obnoxious or hermit-reclusive, but they were willing to push against boundaries that all human cultures eventually draw for themselves. They were the great Questioners. I strive so much in my life to keep questioning, to understand more. Esoterica keeps this alive and well.

[@src3360]

@@darkartsbyadrienne Couldn't have written it any better! This is how I feel, PRECISELY. I love this channel. I have a new list of books to buy lmao Do you have any quirks with your books? I do.. Whatever im using as a bookmark becomes my notes. I wrote down names or words, phrases, anything really. Then I go back and look those things up.

[@darkartsbyadrienne]

@@src3360 lol! I totally have started writing in the margins notes here and there that only make sense if I go back and reread the last page. It's interactive I guess, but it looks like a five-year-old stole it for an art project... It's awesome to take notes though! It helps to stick 😊

[@robertbradley8309]

This was excellent! You gave a warning about misinformation in the media which is very applicable to day. Don't forget the Satanic Panic of the 80s and 90s. I recently bought an edition with an introduction by none other than Montague Summers! This topic is fascinating but also terrifying because it can HAPPEN AGAIN!! Sad to say!

[@dragonmaster613]

Up until now, it seems that this level of Extreme only occurs once every century. Let's hope it either stays that way or (better yet) ends eternally.

[@natureswrath7665]

@@madjiofcimmeria I assume you mean the abortion ritual done by the Satanic Temple? Well take solace in the fact that most Laveyan Satanists hate those guys too.

[@MagnumInnominandum]

I think it IS happening again. The heresies are different, the targets are slightly less the feminine. But the madness and panic, I think is deeper and more widely held.

[@BriteRory]

I'd highly recommend reading the edition of the Malleus by Christopher Mackay through Cambridge University Press over Summers edition, it is far more comprehensive in its annotation and background material and comes from an advantageous position of almost a century worth of academic research since. Montague Summers was certainly an interesting character, and I've read almost every work on witchcraft and the occult he's written (including the several works on vampires and lycanthropy) but in this instance his work has been far surpassed. His editions of Remy, Guazzo, Sinistrari &c are awesome though, and relatively easily accessible.

[@azuranox]

After the Astroworld tragedy that happened a week ago… Satanic Panic is starting to rise again it seems…

[@harryhoofcloppen]

“Those who study history are doomed to watch those who don’t, repeat it.” 😑

[@siorghlas4616]

Unfortunately true

[@MrDalisclock]

Honestly the bit about fanatics being terrified of witches making peoples penises vanish feels oddly on brand even today.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

True!

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

The question how would they Do that??

[@fasted8468]

You are absolutely right. Google: "Metzitzah B'peh". They've been eating and drinking from baby flesh for centuries. It's just open now.

[@fasted8468]

​@@elongatedmanforever1252 it typically involves a Bris. And it only affects babies, so noone really cares. "Metzitzah B'peh" "Bris Mila" "NYC health department" "oral suction of circumcision wounds" Truth is stranger than fiction

[@Gh4styyy]

Well 2 options I think. 1 they used demons too possess the body of the male, and since demons can make you feel chronically depressed or sleep paralysis. demons could definitely (I think) induce erectile diss function. Or the second option, physical removal of the D. In that case I really don't know.

[@plutosapiens]

Hey babe, I must admit, I started watching this video with great skepticism. I'm impressed by your ability to present such complex topics. You're a new favorite :)

[@dragonmaster613]

I came for the Kabbalah, Subbed for Subjects like this! Bless you Dr. Sledge.

[@DefaultSeaTurtle]

Yugioh avatar + interest in Kabbalah makes a lot of sense, actually. I can't explain why though. 😂

[@sandra9456]

Thankyou for sharing. Greetings from Bamberg in Bavaria Germany. Bamberg was known😢up to this day. Friedrich von Förner was the residing Bishop in Bamberg. The first "witch" was burnt 1595. Every tenth residing person, in and around this area, was killed. Sad 😭. There is a movie in german though which tells the true story of Bamberg and Zeil am Main. It is called "Seelen im Feuer" this translates to "Souls in Fire". I don't know If it is available in english language but it is based on a true Story. The knowledge came from the diaries from the then witches. Nürnberg was known for helping and stopping this diabolic circle. Up to this day certain knowledge has survived here in the old country. We pass it in from Generation to Generation. God Bless You and May God bless us all.

[@oddsavage]

Hey! You should call this the "Sledge-Hammer" episode!

[@magpieMOB]

I was gifted a Folio Society edition of the Malleus Maleficarum by a friend who knew I was interested in religious history, I've never managed to read through the whole thing - fascination outweighed by revulsion. Glad others are willing to offer their digests of the text

[@witchhazel3927]

Thank you so much for your insights on Malleus Malificarum and the contextualization of the events that led to over 60 thousand women to be tortured and burnt to death by the Church.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Most standard accounts put the number between 40-60k executed with many, many more subject to torture, imprisonment, social stigma, etc.

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

Yep & most of the accusers were Women.

[@Threetails]

Enchanted weapons have a long history in Germanic folklore, going back to pagan times (e.g. Die Niebelung). It doesn't surprise me that in the turbulent early modern era any survival of that tradition (real or imagined) would be a source of anxiety for the ruling class.

[@AnnaLVajda]

Well anything was seen as intimidating women who were midwives knew anatomy or women who were healers understood herbs those were forbidden knowledge too it was not called medicine but a magical potion etc. Women can grow life too and men can't so they will always resent and minimize that accomplishment also.

[@charlesmcclure1436]

Being an American raised inside this fear/faith system.. one of these modern doctrines of the diverse worlds of Christianity, I ended up in mental hell. Lacking both the ability to read anything outside of English or the material to read it has been a very difficult journey to understand the larger picture. And I find your channel on the top of my favorites list. To ingest the values in these books, and connect the dots is no simple task and you have certainly achieved a level of comprehensive knowledge maybe even exceeding Manly Palmer Hall. You are a sevant without any doubt! Thank you for doing what you are doing!!! The world needs this more than anything right now. I am not someone with extra money to spare, but if I ever find my way into wealth, I would certainly invest it in people like you.🙏🐺🔯

[@drangelapuca]

Another great analysis, my friend! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us all. 🖤

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

The feeling is mutual! Hope you are well - let's catch up soon!

[@kellysmith5873]

And no, I'm interested, not in an obscene fascinated sense, but in a sense of I am profoundly, and absolutely HEARTBROKEN at what the Hammer of Witches was sanctioning.

[@theprecipiceofreason]

it's easy to whip the populace into violence. Once done, it's easy to convice those left unpersecuted to stand by and ignore it. Once done, it's easy to get them to be verbally complicit. Conspiracy theories still prey on the stupid and complacent to this day - especially in countries with state-propgandized purity tests, like the USA, Russia, Hungary, China etc. It's alarming and tiring at the same time

[@thecriticalscholar8680]

Thank you for releasing such a great video!

[@vladislavahrusecka9436]

A video about "martial magic" mentioned around 24:00 would actually be very interesting.

[@jasonmiller9497]

You may be interested in The Magus of Java.

[@toddtaylor4649]

Amazing as always Dr. Sledge!!! Ty

[@alexhawkins5769]

Okay when ever you say "Above in the card and below in the description" you should just say As Above So Below

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Yes, yes I should

[@johngavin1448]

Beard looking good my friend. Can't wait to dive into this video

[@tedhand6237]

Great timing I've been doing some Salem Witch Trials material in my US History class this will be a great supplement for my students.

[@St1cKnGoJuGgAlO]

Get ready for boredom. Not much really happened I'm Salem aside from a few dozen people being flattened under rocks

[@edwardprice140]

Continuing my education , here. Thank you.

[@guythegoth139]

This video is brilliant, thank you for posting it. I am struggling through the Mackay consumer edition myself, and when you were introducing the topic I couldn't help but think "It sounds like he's read the same one I'm reading!". I keep getting stuck in the argumentation though. I almost feel like I need to write a summary of the argumented topics as if I were writing an undergrad paper just to get my head around what's being said. It can be hard to keep track of whether you're reading the "false" or "true" arguments.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

It's a tough read - use some Aquinas (on spiritual creatures is a fun read) for practice

[@BriteRory]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Mackay's edition is also the most recent one I've read, I was very appreciative of the introduction. I'm still making my way through a complete edition of Aquinas' Summa, and probably will be for quite a long time given my reading habits.

[@brocknspectre1221]

I’ve had the disturbing privilege of perusing an original volume of the Malleus Maleficarum. It was bound in some kind of leather, uncertain what kind, but most likely human leather.

[@spoke2639]

These videos have been great research for a book I’m writing about a modern day inquisition that is hell bent on hunting down and exterminating the descendants of Nephilim that survived the flood.

[@nooneinparticular3370]

I swear those pauses between "History, Philosophy and Religion" are getting longer each episode.

[@anapineiro2907]

But they are the best

[@nooneinparticular3370]

@@anapineiro2907 I wasn't complaining hahaha.

[@marcus8710]

I noticed. Almost fell into the interstices.

[@anniekirts6621]

Wow! This is my fav. Thank you 🙏

[@Psiconauta-cabalista]

Such a topic would be so easy to fall in misogyny. You've managed not to fall into it in your intro. I deeply appreciate knowing I'm learning from a person that has a healthy and respectful world view of woman . Each video I watch I admire your work even more. Once again. Thank you for your work sharing your research.

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

Fall into misoggony how so??

[@kujjitafari8509]

A very sad topic that sheds a lot of light on Christianity, and is very relevant to the madness happening in the world today.🙏🏽💕

[@joevaghn457]

wdym

[@ThoseRedPillGuys]

@@joevaghn457 good question

[@TheAstroWitchLux]

The Malleus Maleficarum was the first book I ever downloaded onto Kindle. I've read most of it, it's wild.

[@mikedouglas2004]

Malleus Maleficarum is the coolest sounding book ever.

[@alexanderleuchte5132]

"What else is the woman than the destruction of friendship, an inevitable punishment, a necessary misfortune, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic danger, an attractive pest, a world evil, painted over with beautiful paint?" Heinrich Kramer - Malleus Malificarum (misquoting Matth. 19)

[@stellabee2026]

sounds like a mass shooter’s manifesto ngl

[@mschell8022]

@@stellabee2026 It IS a mass shooter's manifesto. The quote above describes the psychological root of it- an irrational fear of "the Other" i.e. the woman.

[@joevaghn457]

It’s likely inspired from the flawed Genesis crap. I swear, that’s book paints women as inherently wrong and paints men as inherently weak.

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

​@@mschell8022 Is it really that?? or maybe just a Extreme worldview of a half truth??

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

​@@joevaghn457 The bible paints most Men as bad though more then it paints Women in the wrong I mean the devil is Shown to be male Not a woman.

[@akgunkel]

Wow, all this vanishing wang trickery has me afraid of witches again for the first time since I was a little kid!

[@alexanderleuchte5132]

Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others-and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” Matthew 19

[@joevaghn457]

@@alexanderleuchte5132Oh boy, another one of these tools.

[@joevaghn457]

lol I was laughing at all the penis stuff. It was apparently very popular 😂😂

[@StatusUnkown]

I grilled some meat (chicken and beef) and sacrificed a tenth of the choicest most wanted pieces yesterday as are the laws of nature and didn't realize until today that it was the Sabbath, I think my spirit(conscioussness) new exactly what is happening but my mind didn't catch up right away😂❤ now I understand soo much❤ thank you Wisdom Guide

[@Gh4styyy]

Find God

[@susiefairfield7218]

17:46 that idea reminded me ...i actually heard Kenneth Copeland say on the 700 Club, on time, that same thing..he said; and i quote " God expanded Hell for You Sinner! 😮 that apocalyptic stuff is craycray

[@aprilmcpherson-vanraalte5590]

Thank you for covering this subject. I have been curious of this "book" but haven't been able to get my hands on a copy

[@WadeKing-dm2hw]

Human creulty has no bounds unfortunately. Giving complete power to a religious group is not a place we really want to find ourselves in again

[@haleya18]

The rule-based "guard rails" around when and how much to use torture sure seem like the banality of evil manifesting itself in the 15th century, especially in light of the number of lives that were destroyed based on texts such as this -- bureaucratic details to numb the concerns of anyone who might retain a shred of compassion for the victims.

[@HighPriestofLemuria]

Medieval Japanese Buddhism, especially some of the works of Kukai, also runs on the setup of the disputed question.

[@MIHMediaInc]

Fascinating narration and review of a dark history of modern europe. 👍

[@andrealuisecandido1154]

This i noTiced also

[@andrealuisecandido1154]

ForTunaTeLy we live in a CounTry where we have free speach per Law + Order

[@alwilliams5177]

Gotta ❤ early printing drama.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Definitely

[@mdlahey3874]

A particularly absorbing episode, Dr. Sledge, thank you!

[@ms1472]

Around 60k people... that's crazy! Thank you for this very interesting video.

[@matthewboulter7064]

Oh thank-you thank-you thank-you Justin! I have been waiting and hoping you would do this tome. Sensational!! :D

[@thetattooonmichelleobamasd9834]

Positively frightening.

[@siorghlas4616]

I admire your skills in sharing information. The classy attire is a plus lol

[@johnbella2422]

Dr. Sledge on The Hammer and other Tools

[@pentegarn1]

As gruesome as this book is, I always felt it was a literal time capsule of folk beliefs in the 1400s and before.

[@snippets981]

There's a mortar and pestle on the shelf behind you.... just curious if it gets used, what do you use it for? This is fascinating, btw, though always a depressing topic...

[@jjose99889]

Thank you for your very detailed research. I am currently writing my university dissertation about how gender played a huge part in the early modern witch hunts.

[@charlottemeredith45]

Hi all, it is often quoted that the Malleus Maleficarum was placed in the Index of Forbidden Works. Does anyone know whether this was actually the case?

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

It wasn't. Institoris was censured by the Inquisition in 1490 but the Malleus was never put on the Index.

[@charlottemeredith45]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Much obliged for the answer! After viewing your video, I got the impression that this kind of condemnation seemed unlikely. It is a pity that those Cologne Theologians didn't pay closer attention to what it was they were endorsing however!

[@RobertKaucher]

26:22 Relax in this case is a synonym for remand or release as in released to the care of the secular authorities. This would be the same meaning of relaxare that would give Italian rilasciare which includes the meaning consegnare (deliver).

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Yep

[@mmbell]

My boyfriend gave me this book as my birthday present years ago. He went months looking for this book for me. P.D. I have hope that you make one episode about the movie "Haxan" from 1922.

[@Special_Agent_NSB]

Hammer of Witches would be a sick name for a band.

[@jeffaltier5582]

Amazing and fascinating. Thank you.

[@andrealuisecandido1154]

well i should use my wiTch CRAfT because i would need much money make 'milk' sour is no T enoug and This chemical procgess 'work' by itself as we have learned Chemy Physic was one of my fav in Schools I havenT have had many Fav lol

[@andrealuisecandido1154]

by The Way i have a good sense of Humour

[@oliver5482]

Thank you for the video - excellent presentation.

[@weeeeeeraaaaaa]

your new videos never fail to excite me!:)

[@complimentary_voucher]

Just want to say I notice and applaud those little marquetry boxes behind you there 👍

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

The Japanese puzzle boxes ?

[@complimentary_voucher]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Ya! They're lovely. Ta so much for your amazing work, it has kicked my arse into taking historic esoterica more seriously as a compelling foundation for the psychological and procedural aspects of whack fiction. It's like Spanx for containing and reshaping all that jiggly magical possibility. Which was... its original intent lol. Imma slow learner. But thanks.

[@PyWPS]

28 Editions !? G-d damm it, people love dark literature !!!!

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Yeah, it proved (murderously) popular

[@dcklein85]

Doc, do you know any political uses for the malleus? Did any government use it for land or wealth confiscation?

[@alexanderleuchte5132]

I'm so glad to live in a time where for example artists like Marina Abramovic are not accused of being witches. After all that has happened and what we have learned in hindsight from history that would be comically absurd...

[@numinous2506]

I was thinking, 'what an utterly ignorant comment ripe for knowledge deficit redress.' She's one of the highest satanic priestesses on the planet, Alexander. She deserves more respect than that, to be honest. You can't possibly be this dull. You are trying to provoke them, right? Lol That's pretty witty way to troll them actually. Bravo👏

[@alexanderleuchte5132]

Marina Abramovic just wants conspiracy theorists to let her be "“I need to open my heart,” Abramovic said. “I really want to ask these people, ‘Can you stop with this? Can you stop harassing me? Can’t you see that this is just the art I’ve been doing for 50 years of my life?’.(...)Abramovic said she was most hurt by how the conspiracy theorists took images from her work and twisted the meaning to bolster their case. Among those images, she said, was a picture of her sitting on a pile of bloody cow bones. The image was from “Balkan Baroque,” a work that Abramovic performed at the 1997 Venice Biennale, where she won the Golden Lion for Best Artist. In that piece, she spent five days in a sweltering Venice basement, trying in vain to scrub the bones clean. It was a comment on the Balkan wars of the 1990s, Abramovic said, and how, once blood is spilled, you can’t wash it off your hands. “How can this be satanic?” she said. “Tell me!” (...)“All I want to know is how I can overcome this and have a positive outcome,” she said. “Fear is the worst human emotion.” " artdaily

[@alexanderleuchte5132]

@Ai Zee Splitting hairs is a well known satanic witchcraft technique to confuse the righteous, way more evil than scrubbing bones. Vade satanas! lol

[@alexanderleuchte5132]

​@Ai Zee So what you are really trying to tell me is that Marina Abramovic weights as much as a duck?

[@alexanderleuchte5132]

@Ai Zee Because you made poopy in my notifications and i happened to see it again. Why do you even answer kiddo? lol

[@Jason-ms8bv]

Thanks for covering this Dr S, it is interesting (and terrifying/disappointing) that each time a new form of communication is invented it's always responsible for feeding people's anxieties, fears and prejudices, I guess there is something about people under duress that leads them to prefer a fantasy to the reality of their life experience, at least in fantasy you can pretend you're doing something about your problems...also that idea of Satan moving judgement day and being so powerful sounds suspiciously like dualism to me, isn't that heresy? Any one know the number of local inquisitor?

[@mrbanda-fp4dd]

love this channel, I'd like to see u cover sufism and sufi mystics like al halaj and rumi if u would be interested

[@thetattooonmichelleobamasd9834]

Something tells me Sufism, like The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, doesn't qualify as Western esotericism. I wonder if Gurdjieff does, though...

[@ThatWitchesRealm]

Thank you...Awesome!!!

[@anthonygeorge3689]

Now I wanna try and find historical connection between the heresy hunts and how that interacted with the absolute necessity of washer women of the time, and if it ever came up that a washer woman in royal employ ever was accused, how that played out. (Washer women in royal employ were literally matters of national security. Snappydragon has a great vid about that)

[@Silhouette7950]

"Freud, can ya help us out, brother?" 😂😂😂

[@MandrakeFernflower]

He is too busy doing massive rails in the underworld

[@gaiagreen2690]

Just a few months ago, I read an article published in a catholic newspaper in Germany, in which the medieval inquisition, the persecution and the witch hunts were completely misrepresented, sugarcoated and in part completely denied. The church now claims that there were actually very few victims who were murdered during those times, much less than those historically documented, and that they were not murdered by the church but by the ordinary, uneducated village people who blamed all their many misfortunes on the superstition about the witches. Catholic church, they say, actually worked hard to PREVENT those murders and save those poor, innocently accused, so the inquisition was actually PROTECTING the persecuted. They also explicitly deny the church ever even believing in the existence of the witches, and that these accusations are unproven, fabricated and exaggerated, to defame the catholic church by it's enemies. And needles to say, the Maleus Maleficarum (or the "Hexenhammer" in German) was not mentioned at all. There is a strong, widespread tendency of reversing historical facts in many parts of the western world at the moment, and an attempt to rehabilitate certain personalities, ideologies, organisations and activities which were, until recently, deemed to be indefensible, barbaric and inhumane. I'll try to find that article and link it here, for those who speak German.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

The power of revisionism, unsurprising but sad.

[@inisipisTV]

Well it is true that the Catholic church, specially the early Middle ages, made an active move to prevent most secular powers at the time in persecuting or executing suspected witches since it goes against the Church's theological belief that magical or witches power doesn't exist. These all change during the Late Medieval and the Renaissance as stated in the video. The Papal Bull here "Summis desiderantes affectibus" concerns more on the acceptance of the existence witches, but again it more emphazise on conversion and preaching against it to the people, not on actual extermination. Of course that didn't stop fanatical churchmen like Frazer to push it beyound to enforce their own personal dogma What compound this even further is during the "Enlightenment" period, that there's huge wave of anti-clerical hysteria that made writings over-exaggerated accounts of the Witch trials and the Medieval ages in general and totally paint it in very extreme light that there myths and outright misinformation that stll is still pervasive even in todays schools. Though, keep in mind the Medieval age is a rather barbaric and violent time as compared today, but so are the Roman and Hellenistic periods as well the Kingdoms in the East in those times as well.

[@gaiagreen2690]

@@inisipisTV Literally every single Catholic that I ever talked to, from an occasional church goer to an educated and practicing believer, would immediately tell you that the bible itself requires the witches to be eliminated ("you shall not suffer a witch to live") and that the Catholic doctrine has adopted, practiced and defended that biblical command since it's beginings, only in different ways, depths, shapes and forms, up until today. But yes, the article that I have mentioned in my previous post sounded exactly as appologetic, vague, philosophical and in denial of historical facts and reality as your words here.

[@Denny_7782]

One of my favorite AFI songs 😊

[@Holistic-Healthcare]

Hey Doc, Have you considered publishing your scripts, edited into a book? You could use the Indian company Gyan Books to have it leather bound with gold leaf and still be cheaper than Brill...

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Nah, I mean the scripts are based on books which are already better. People should just read those.

[@Yourequiremoreminerals]

Absolutely love your channel Doctor Sledge, thank you for helping guide my studies into esoteric gnosis, know what I mean? c:

[@joshbisig]

Wow the modern conception of necromancy is pretty cleaned up

[@IanM-rl1pu]

Is the still on your shelf functional? You could make 1 shot at a time. Cheers.

[@ConanDuke]

These are dark, neofundamentalist days we have to look forward to. Not holding by breath on that whole 'learning from the past' thing. Fingers crossed we don't all get crucified. Shai Halud!

[@Svartalf14]

I don't quite get why you make such a big thing about the inquisition 'relaxing' convicted witches to the secular arm. I know that to me, who am French and to whom 'relaxe' is most associated with an accused being released due to being found innocent, or at least not being proved guilty, this use of the word seems strange, yet it is quite logical in legal terms, since the inquisition, who held the witch under its own power during the trial, had to actually relinquish the condemned into the hands of the civil authorities before they could perform the execution.

[@Self-replicating_whatnot]

How do you fuck up table of contents? I mean, it's not like you have contents right before your eyes...

[@tallmikbcroft6937]

I noticed I no longer get your videos on my feed. Just wondering if anyone else has had this happen?

[@laurah1020]

Great analysis. Thank you!!

[@Key_Locke]

I wonder if "vanishing penis" is the puritanical way of saying erectile dysfunction.

[@bigsarge2085]

Fascinating and tragic.

[@jonsey3645]

Apologies for the obvious synchophantrie but I just love you Man. Thank you for your very important and timely efforts.

[@GarGhuul]

I appreciate your giving this topic such treatment, horrible as the contents are. Certainly I look forward to the next, hopefully a lighter tone.

[@johnantesbergeriii4053]

Please please please, on Dr Dee's grave, please do a video of the Compendium Maleficarum!

[@kellysmith5873]

My reasons for asking are these: 1: because I've seen reenactments of the witch burnings in video documentaries, as well as in artwork of that time period. And watching depictions of ritualistic animal sacrifice during the New Testament times in the Bible.

[@inisipisTV]

We never seem to learn from history. The people in power change. The Ideology and victims may change. But, we're still doing the same mistakes.

[@DTOMbillhilly]

To be fair to the inquisition, didn't most of the grimoires that you talk about on this channel originate around this period of time. It makes sense (from a church perspective) that if that kind of corruption extends to the church itself, the outside world must be extremely corrupt. Not to say that's correct, just trying to step into the mind of the authors of this work. Not to mention the last time paganism rose with serious potency was when the northmen came south and wrecked the remnants of the Western Roman Empire. After centuries of rebuilding to get to the Renaissance period, the proposal of slipping back into the chaos of the middle ages must have been horrifying. Inb4 the wickermanning begins, and other commenters accuse me of being somehow supportive of the trials and purges, I'm not. Just trying to understand what could lead to such an event.

[@Fiscacondaniel]

Next time I look out the window, I'll know who to blame. (I live in Germany).

[@Fiscacondaniel]

@@jessegreer8242 exactly

[@numinous2506]

I'm not the least bit optimistic of our progress away from such brutality. In fact, I'm sure we will out do our most abhorrent behavior.

[@inisipisTV]

We never seem to learn from history. The people in power change. The Ideology and victims may change. But, we're still doing the same mistakes.

[@joevaghn457]

Have our closest genetic relatives ever given up their natural ways? Think about. Trying to (permanently) artificially deviate from human nature is impossible. Humans will always be what we are. The chimpanzees never stop being violent and brutal, and the bonobos never stop being matriarchal love makers who never fight. I don’t think we should think of progress as being artificially less than that of what are genes cause us be.

[@chevycoolLady]

Appreciate!

[@elizabethdesousa8290]

Great information. thanks

[@magicstudy4149]

I started reading this book on sacred-texts maybe a week before you uploaded this video. I'm going through each section and taking notes and breaking it down, but dear god the misogyny-- and I'm only on part 1, question 11! (I'm super busy and don't have much time to read, so don't be intimidated and think it's too long if you're interested in reading it yourself.)

[@chairmankim9628]

One of the best movies on this topic is: THE CONQUEROR WORM with Vincent Price.

[@ammarsawi6118]

Thank you

[@duckfootdk]

Thanks

[@DonPeyote420]

0:36 also fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope