Catholic demonology and witchcraft theory

Francesco Maria Guazzo

1570 – 1640

Francesco Maria Guazzo was a Milanese Ambrosian friar and experienced exorcist whose Compendium Maleficarum (1608) became one of the most authoritative Latin manuals of witchcraft demonology of the early modern period, covering witches' pacts with the devil, demonic powers, and countermeasures in comprehensive detail. Drawing on earlier demonologists including Sprenger, Rémy, and Bodin, and illustrated with striking woodcuts, the Compendium synthesized Catholic witch-hunting doctrine and served as a practical reference for ecclesiastical tribunals. It remains a primary source for the study of early modern demonology and the theology of diabolical witchcraft.