Today I watched a show on NatGeo about the Malleus Maleficarum. Written by Heinrich Kramer in 1486, this book played a huge part in the witch trials that would ensue for many many years after. At first, not many people listened to this guy, they thought he was a lunatic and laughed at him. So, then he wrote this book. He forged signatures, and even forged a document from the Vatican which would allow him to continue his witch hunt.
The main target, women. To be more exact, poor women. And anyone who defended them, also became a target. Victims were tortured for days until they confessed to practicing witchcraft. Sometimes they were strung up by their wrists until their arms dislocated, or they had their hands put in a vice until the bones were crushed. Its no wonder so many people confessed, death would be a more welcoming thought than days of endless torture. Hundreds of thousands of people were tortured, and/or murdered due to these witch hunts. In my mind, this guy is Hitler's equal.
Good thing this horror isn't still happening today, huh? Wrong. All over the world, witch hunts are still happening, people are still being murdered for their beliefs or just because some neighbor decided to be an ass. What better way to murder someone and get away with it then to cry "witch"? It's a sad yet interesting story to read up on. (Google witch hunts or witch trials.) I'm a bit of a history buff so things like this intrigue me. Perhaps one day, the witch hunts will stop. What can we do?
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