FROM FIDE MINUS TO FEMINA: THE CONSTRUCTION OF HEINRICH KRAMER'S DOMINICAN INQUISITORIAL VIEW OF THE FEMININE IN THE MALLEUS MALEFICARUM
Inquisition; woman; devil; Malleus Maleficarum; Dominicans; Heinrich Kramer.
The Malleus Maleficarum is considered one of the primary inquisitorial manuals, if not the foremost, regarding the theme of witchcraft. Popularly known as "the Inquisitors' Bible," the work had extensive later dissemination, with its highest number of printed editions in the 16th and 17th centuries, making it one of the key works among the first to be printed. Comprising a discourse deeply rooted in theological and philosophical foundations, the manual can be understood as a product of the mentality of the Dominican inquisitors James Sprenger and, particularly, Heinrich Kramer, to whom the work is essentially linked. Guided by this work, we seek to understand how the micro-context—namely, the local context of its elaboration—the connection of the Dominican order with the inquisition, the German inquisition itself, the regional context of Germany in the 15th century, and Kramer's own role as an inquisitor—are considered, unlike other works on the subject that focus on a macro-context, understanding it as a reflection of institutionalized ecclesiastical thought, as the key to understanding the inquisitors' need to write a text like the Malleus and the discourse present throughout the work. Furthermore, it is essential for us to address how and to what extent the perception of women as heretical witches contributes to Kramer's own inquisitorial vision, logically based on a Dominican inquisitor's perspective. The analysis of witchcraft cases presented, particularly in the second part of the work, becomes fundamental, as through this survey, we can not only gather information about where, when, and the common characteristics of the cases, but also what is significant to the inquisitor and what he seeks to demonstrate through these mentions.