Table of Contents

Contents

List of illustrations

List of Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Johannes Hartlieb, The Book of All Forbidden Arts

[A.] Prologue

[B.] Powers of the Devil

[C.] An example from Caesarius of Heisterbach

[D.] Moral exhortation

[E.] Nygramancy (necromancy)

[F.] Geomancy

[G.] Correlation of arts with elements

[H.] Hydromancy

[I.] Aeromancy

[J.] Pyromancy

[K.] Chiromancy

[L.] Spatulamancy

[M.] General prohibition

Ulrich Molitoris, On witches and pythonesses, in German “Unholden” or “Hexen”

Letter

[Part I]

1. Weather magic

2. Harm to humans and infants

3. Impotence

4. Change of form

5. Riding on sticks or wolves

6. Intercourse of Devil with women

7. Children born to demons and witches

8. Foretelling future things

[Part II]

Chaps. 1-3 resumed

Chap. 4 resumed

Chap. 5 resumed

Chaps. 6-7 resumed

Epilogue

Short bibliography

About the Author

Richard Kieckhefer is Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor of Religious Studies at Northwestern University and author of Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century (Penn State, 1998).

Reviews

“These two little-known fifteenth-century texts are here expertly translated into English for the first time by one of the world’s leading authorities on medieval magic and witchcraft. They document the involvement of laymen in the early prosecution of witchcraft and provide valuable context for more famous works such as the Malleus maleficarum. The introduction deftly introduces the authors and places the works in the long tradition of manuals for princes. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of magic, witchcraft, heresy, or ‘aberrant’ beliefs.”—Daniel Hobbins, author of Authorship and Publicity Before Print

“The two essays presented for the first time in English in Richard Kieckhefer’s Hazards of the Dark Arts show a comparable but refracted view of early modern opinion, reminding us to never underrate its intricacy.”—Camille Ralphs Times Literary Supplement

“This is a very useful and engaging volume, and deserves to be widely used in teaching on magic, witchcraft, and courtly culture in the medieval and early modern periods. As a model for similar Magic in History Sourcebooks we might hope to see in the future, it is very encouraging.”—Catherine Rider Speculum

“A great boon to the study of witchcraft.”—Cliff Cunningham Sun News Austin