De la démonomanie des sorciers – Jean Bodin – 1582 | Pact Witchcraft Treatise

Demonomanie des sorciers by Jean Bodin was the most important work on sorcery and witchcraft in the 16^th-century. It is most notable for containing a description of the horrors of making deals with the devil, or ‘pact witchcraft’. Bodin believed that evil spirits could influence magicians and sorcerers and that exorcisms were a critical, if not vital, tactic for dealing with demons. This work also gives reports of monastics having sexual relations with the Devil, sightings, and the study of werewolves, torture for being convicted of witchcraft, and the role of witches in summoning demons.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: De la démonomanie des sorciers : a Monseignevr M. Chrestoste de Thou, cheualier seigneur de Cœli, premier president en la cour de Parlement, & conseiller du roy en son priué conseil
• Author(s): Jean Bodin
• Illustrator(s):
• Contributor(s):
• Publisher: A Paris, Chez Iacques du Puys
• Edition: 1582.
• Format: (8vo), single volume
• Binding: Vellum over marbled boards
• Size:  8in x 6.25in (20.3cm x 15.9cm)
• Collation: [12], 252 [i.e. 255] pp;
  • pages 249–255 misnumbered 245–252
• Illustrations: none
• Contents Include:
  • Explicit discussions of pact witchcraft
  • Accounts of lycanthropy and demonic transformations
  • Doctrinal arguments on exorcism and sorcerous summoning
  • Legal recommendations for the prosecution of witches and laws dealing with witchcraft
• Provenance: handwritten biographical note on Bodin and work, written on letterhead of Dr Jean Manet of Marseille
• Reference(s): Dorbon 387–389; USTC 1699; Adams B 2222

Condition:

Very Good. Vellum over marbled boards, text-block tight and stable. Hinge repairs present. Interior complete with minimal notes and underscoring. Misnumbered final leaves as issued.

Why Collect This?

• One of the earliest legal arguments for execution of witches
• Descriptions of pact-based witchcraft theory
• Appeals to collectors of European occult texts

Item Number: # 28935