De Praestigiis Daemonum English Translation Pdf May 2026

Catholic and Protestant authorities alike condemned Weyer. If witches were merely sick, then the entire judicial machinery of witch trials—torture, execution, confiscation of property—was murder. The demonologist Jean Bodin wrote La Démonomanie des Sorciers (1580) largely as a rebuttal to Weyer, accusing him of being a demon himself.

Yet Weyer’s influence endured. His work was cited by Reginald Scot (The Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584) and, centuries later, by early psychiatrists who saw in his “melancholic old women” the first clinical descriptions of mental illness. de praestigiis daemonum english translation pdf

Used copies of the Shea translation appear on AbeBooks or eBay. Be warned: they typically cost between $150 and $400 USD due to rarity. It is a niche academic printing. Catholic and Protestant authorities alike condemned Weyer

Finding a quality English translation is crucial. The text was originally written in a dense, rhetorical Latin. The most respected modern English edition is translated by John Shea (published by Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies). If you find a PDF of older translations

If you find a PDF of older translations (like the 17th-century partial translations), be prepared for archaic English and difficult syntax.