University of Melbourne acquires 1494 edition of Malleus Maleficarum

The University of Melbourne has acquired a 1494 edition of the Malleus Maleficarum for its archives and special collections. It previously belonged to two German monasteries and was sold at auction in 1883.

Printing details The copy was produced less than fifty years after the invention of the printing press. Pages were printed in bulk and then completed with handwritten rubrication, a practice that ended within about five years of this edition. Curators noted that the combination of early printed text and later handwork places the book in a narrow technological window.

Content and historical role The Malleus Maleficarum, written in 1487 by Heinrich Kramer, asserts that witchcraft results from a pact with the devil and presents detailed procedures for identifying and prosecuting suspected witches, including the use of torture.

The text states that women are more susceptible to witchcraft due to moral weakness. Historians have linked its circulation to the increase in witchcraft trials that began in the late fifteenth century.

Acquisition rationale University staff said the book supports research in early modern history, gender studies, and the history of printing. It also documents how printed works spread ideas during a period of technological and social change. A senior lecturer in historical studies observed that similar attitudes toward women appear in some contemporary online discussions.