Editing Malleus Maleficarum (section)

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[[File:J. Sprenger and H. Institutoris, Malleus maleficarum. Wellcome L0000980.jpg|thumb|right|Title page of an edition dated 1669]]
The ''Malleus Maleficarum'' asserts that three elements are necessary for witchcraft: the evil intentions of the witch, the help of the Devil, and the permission of God.<ref>Russell, 232</ref> The treatise is divided into three sections. The first section is aimed at clergy and tries to refute critics who deny the reality of witchcraft, thereby hindering its prosecution.

The second section describes the actual forms of witchcraft and its remedies. The third section is to assist judges confronting and combating witchcraft, and to aid the inquisitors by removing the burden from them. Each of the three sections has the prevailing themes of what is witchcraft and who is a witch.

==== Section I {{anchor|section1}} <!-- do not remove the anchor -->====
Section I examines the concept of witchcraft theoretically, from the point of view of [[natural philosophy]] and theology.{{sfnp|Broedel|2003|p=20}} Specifically it addresses the question of whether witchcraft is a real phenomenon or imaginary, perhaps "deluding phantasms of the devil, or simply the fantasies of overwrought human minds".{{sfnp|Broedel|2003|p=22}} The conclusion drawn is that witchcraft must be real because the Devil is real. Witches entered into a pact with Satan to allow them the power to perform harmful magical acts, thus establishing an essential link between witches and the Devil.{{sfnp|Broedel|2003|p=22}}

==== Section II {{anchor|section2}} <!-- do not remove the anchor -->====
Matters of practice and actual cases are discussed, and the powers of witches and their recruitment strategies.<ref name="Broedel, 30">Broedel, 30</ref> It states that it is mostly witches, as opposed to the Devil, who do the recruiting, by making something go wrong in the life of a respectable matron that makes her consult the knowledge of a witch, or by introducing young maidens to tempting young devils.<ref name="Broedel, 30" /> It details how witches cast spells, and remedies that can be taken to prevent witchcraft, or help those who have been affected by it.{{sfnp|Mackay|2006|p=214}}

==== Section III {{anchor|section3}} <!-- do not remove the anchor -->====
Section III is the legal part of the ''Malleus Maleficarum'' that describes how to prosecute a witch. The arguments are clearly laid for the lay magistrates prosecuting witches. The section offers a step-by-step guide to the conduct of a witch trial, from the method of initiating the process and assembling accusations, to the interrogation (including torture) of witnesses, and the formal charging of the accused.{{sfnp|Broedel|2003|p=34}} Women who did not cry during their trial were automatically believed to be witches.{{sfnp|Mackay|2006|p=502}}