Ulrich Molitor

Ulrich Molitor (also Molitoris) (born c. 1442, died before 23 December 1507) was a legal scholar. He wrote one of the first books on witchcraft, "De Lamiis et Pythonicis Mulieribus" (Of Witches and Diviner Women), published in 1489.

Although Molitor supported the death sentence for heretics and practitioners of witchcraft, from a moderate point of view for his time he considered that the Sabbaths were an illusion caused by the Devil and not a reality.

References

* Beyer, Jürgen, 'Molitor, Ulrich', in "Enzyklopädie des Märchens. Handwörterbuch zur historischen und vergleichenden Erzählforschun", vol. 9 (Berlin & New York, 1997-99), col. 767-769
* Mauz, Jörg, "Ulrich Molitoris. Ein süddeutscher Humanist und Rechtsgelehrter" (Vienna, 1992)
* Molitoris, Ulrich,"Schriften", ed. Jörg Mauz SJ [Studien zur Kulturgeschichte 1) (Constance, 1997)
* Molitor, Ulrich, "Von Unholden und Hexen", New edition, annotated and translated into modern German, UBooks 2008