Martinus de Arles y Andosilla (1451?–1521) was doctor of theology and canon in

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

and archdeacon of

Aibar Aibar (or Aybar, eu, Oibar) is a town located in the province of Navarre, in the autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. History García Jiménez of Pamplona was killed at Aybar in 882 in a battle against the Emir of Córdoba (Muhamm ...

, author of a ''tractatus de superstitionibus, contra maleficia seu sortilegia quae hodie vigent in orbe terrarum'' (1515), a work on

demonology Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may ...

in the context of the Early Modern

witch-hunts A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern per ...

. Martin believed witches (

sorginak Sorginak ( root form: ''sorgin'', absolutive case (singular): ''sorgina'') are the assistants of the goddess Mari in Basque mythology. It is also the Basque name for witches, priests and priestesses, making it difficult to distinguish between t ...

) to be particularly numerous among the population of

Navarra Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

, and the Basques of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

in general. He recommends stern measures of an

inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

against this. His depiction of witchcraft is, however, based on sources predating the ''

Malleus maleficarum The ''Malleus Maleficarum'', usually translated as the ''Hammer of Witches'', is the best known treatise on witchcraft. It was written by the German Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinized name ''Henricus Institor'') and first ...

'', arguing against its simplistic depiction of witchcraft (''falsa opinione ..credentes cum Diana vel Herodia nocturnis horis equitare, vel se in alias creaturas transformare''). The work was printed in Paris in 1517, and in Rome in 1559 (142 sextodecimo pages). The work was not widely received and is now very difficult to find. Nicolas Rémy in his 1595 '' Demonolatry'' writes: :"I am aware that Peter of Palude and Martin of Arles have said that when demons go about this work, they, as it were, milk the semen from the bodies of dead men; but this is as ridiculous as the proverbial dead donkey's fart." (trans. Ashwin 1929) He is interred in the cathedral of Pamplona, his sepulchre bearing the inscription ''Hic jacet Reverendus Martinus ab Andosilla et Arles, doctor in sacra theologia, canonicus, et archidiaconus vallis de Aibar, in eclesia Pampilonensi qui diem clausit extremum. Anno Domini 1521 die 25 aprilis.''

External links

euskomedia.orgfacsimile of the 1559 edition
(upenn.edu) {{authority control 1450s births 1521 deaths 15th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests 16th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests Spanish Christian theologians Inquisition Witchcraft in Spain 1515 books 1521 books Medieval Spanish theologians