Heinrich Kramer (c. 1430 – 1505, aged 74-75), also known under theLatinized nameHenricus Institor,^[a][1] was aGerman churchman andinquisitor. With his widely distributed bookMalleus Maleficarum (1487), which describeswitchcraft and endorses detailed processes for the extermination of witches, he was instrumental in establishing the period ofwitch trials in the early modern period. ProfessorMalcolm Gaskill has described Kramer as a "superstitious psychopath."^[2][3]

Born in Schlettstadt, nowSélestat,Alsace, he joined theDominican Order at an early age and while still a young man was appointed Prior of the Dominican house of his native town.^[4]

At some date before 1474 he was appointed Inquisitor for theTyrol,Salzburg,Bohemia andMoravia. His eloquence in thepulpit and tireless activity received recognition at Rome and he was the right-hand man of theArchbishop of Salzburg.

Thepapal bullSummis desiderantes whichPope Innocent VIII published in 1484 acknowledges the existence of witches and explicitly empowers the inquisition to prosecutewitches andsorcerers. The bull aimed to reaffirm the jurisdiction of Kramer, who was denied authority as an inquisitor in Germany.

One year later, he went toInnsbruck as the head of an inquisitorial commission with the stated intention of "bringing witches to justice".^[5] Despite being granted episcopal jurisdiction to conduct trials by Georg Golser, bishop of Brixen, the latter eventually acquired a distaste for Kramer's alleged scandals.^[6]

This most likely referred to the whole interrogation ofHelena Scheuberin in Innsbruck and six other citizens accused of witchcraft. Helena herself, married to a prosperous burgher named Sebastian, was described as an "aggressive, independent woman who was not afraid to speak her mind".^[5] Right after Kramer had arrived in the city, she had passed him in the street, spat and cursed him publicly: "Fie on you, you bad monk, may the falling evil take you". Later, it was discovered she was not attending Kramer's sermons and encouraged others to do likewise, all of which were brought against her as charges for the crime of witchcraft. Helena even disrupted one of his sermons "by loudly proclaiming that she believed Institor to be an evil man in league with the devil".^[5]

During her trial, as Kramer focused heavily on the sexuality of Scheuberin, he was accused by the bishop of having "presumed much that had not been proved". Kramer remained in Innsbruck to continue the investigation, collect evidence, and interrogate suspected witches. Golser and Kramer exchanged letters encouraging Kramer to quit the investigation, ending with a final letter in 1486 in which Golser ordered Kramer to leave his diocese, the trials in Innsbruck finally being suspended. Kramer finally relented and returned to Cologne.^[6]

In response to the Bishop's criticism, Kramer began to write a treatise on witchcraft that later became theMalleus Maleficarum (commonly translated as "The Hammer of Witches"). The bullSummis desiderantes, which gave him the authority of prosecuting and investigating cases of sorcery, was included in the forefront of the book, first published in 1487.

Kramer failed in his attempt to obtain endorsement for this work from the top theologians of the Inquisition at theFaculty of Cologne, and they condemned the book as recommending unethical and illegal procedures, as well as being inconsistent to what they perceived as the orthodox Catholic doctrines ofdemonology.^[7]

In the overall evaluation, his works were praised and his prestige was growing. He was asked by theNuremberg council to provide expert consultation on the procedure of witch trial in 1491.^[8] In 1495 he was summoned by theMaster General of the Order, Joaquin de Torres,O.P. toVenice and gave very popular public lectures and disputations. They were worthy of the presence and patronage of thePatriarch of Venice. He also wrote treatisesSeveral Discourses and Various Sermons upon the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist (Nuremberg, 1496);A Tract Confuting the Errors of Master Antonio degli Roselli (Venice, 1499); followed byThe Shield of Defence of the Holy Roman Church Against the Picards and Waldenses which were quoted by many authors. He was appointed aspapal nuncio and his assignment as inquisitor was changed toBohemia andMoravia byPope Alexander VI in 1500.^[9]

Summers observes that 17th-century "Dominican chroniclers, such asQuétif andÉchard, number Kramer and Sprenger among the glories and heroes of theirOrder".^[10]

He passed his last days intensely writing and preaching until his death inKroměříž inMoravia, in 1505.^[11]

• Malleus Maleficarum, 1487
• Several Discourses and Various Sermons upon the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist,Nuremberg, 1496
• Opusculum in errores Monarchiae Antonii de Rosellis (in Latin). Venice: Hermann Liechtenstein. 1499.
• The Shield of Defence of the Holy Roman Church Against the Picards and Waldenses, c. 1500

• Broedel, Hans Peter (2003).The Malleus Maleficarum and the construction of witchcraft : theology and popular belief. Manchester.ISBN 1423706471.OCLC 60638482.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Burns, William E. (2003).Witch Hunts in Europe and America - An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press.
• Summers (2012).{{cite book}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)^{[full citation needed]}

• Reinhard Tenberg (1990). "Institoris, Heinrich". In Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm (ed.).Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 2. Hamm: Bautz. cols. 1307–1310.ISBN 3-88309-032-8.