''Daemonolatreiae libri tres'' is a 1595 work by

Nicholas Rémy Nicholas Rémy, Latin Remigius (1530–1616) was a French magistrate who claimed in his book to have overseen the execution of more than 800 witches and the torture or persecution of a similar number. His work shows much influence from Jean Bodin. ...

. It was edited by

Montague Summers Augustus Montague Summers (10 April 1880 – 10 August 1948) was an English author, clergyman, and teacher. He initially prepared for a career in the Church of England at Oxford and Lichfield, and was ordained as an Anglican deacon in 1908. He ...

and translated as ''Demonolatry'' in 1929. Along with 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 ...

'', it is generally considered one of the most important early works on demons and

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

es. The book was drawn from the capital trials of roughly 900 persons who were tried and put to death in a fifteen-year span in the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy. It was founded in 959 following th ...

for the crime of witchcraft." The ''Daemonolatreiae'' contains citations from a great many authors, ancient and modern, including Johann Weyer, who is cited as an authority as if there were no differences between his position and that of Rémy. More importantly, however, the book is also based on cases from the archives, but Rémy seems never to have returned the cases that he used, so it is impossible to check his account of any particular case against the original records.

References

Notes

Sources

*Summers (ed.), ''Demonolatry'' (1929), reprinted by Kessinger Publishing (2003), Witch hunter manuals Witchcraft treatises 1595 books Witchcraft in France {{christianity-stub