On the Demon-Mania of Witches

An abridged English translation of De la démonomanie des sorciers by the French jurist and political theorist Jean Bodin. Bodin argued for the reality and gravity of witchcraft and urged judges to relax normal legal safeguards in prosecuting it. The work was highly influential in shaping persecuting attitudes. Students of political thought, law and the witch trials will find it an important primary source.