This is a longish, 20,000 word,in-depth exploration of mutations to the witch archetype initiated by the Medieval Church across a number of centuries. It argues that there were a range of additions to primordial Early Medieval story motifs associated with witches that eventually fed into the horrors of the witch hunts in the Late Medieval and Early Modern eras. The study tracks additions to the Witch archetype found in the notorious Hammer of Witches (or Malleus Maleficarum) Inquisitors handbook written by Kramer and Sprenger and circulated from 1486 onwards. The book helped launch the Witch hunts that saw 50,000 to 100,000, at minimum people murdered.

This piece belongs to Historical, Psychological, Sociological and Political Writings, Vol. 4 of The Collected Works of Ian Irvine (Hobson). (Nonfiction)

'Mutations to the Witch Archetype in Medievale Europe: A psycho-historical perspective', by Dr ian Irvine, copyright 1992 (first draft) and 2022, revised and updated, all rights reserved. 

The piece features 8 separate chapters, approx. 2,000 words each, plus an Introduction, extensive notes and extensive up-dated bibliography detailing some key texts on the Witch Crazes and the Witch archetype.