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Heinrich Kramer

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Witch Hunter

The Resume

    (circa 1430-1505)
    Resided in Germany
    Also known as 'Henry Institoris'
    Dominican Priest
    Inquisitors of the Catholic Church (1484)
    Co-wrote with Jakob Sprenger the 'Malleus Maleficarum' ('Hammer of Witches' 1486)

Why he might be annoying:

    He and Jakob Sprenger were obsessed with witchcraft.
    He and Jakob Sprenger advocated torturing suspects and/or burning them at the stake.
    He and Jakob Sprenger hated women, describing them as 'sluts' and 'incomplete animals.'
    He and Jakob Sprenger said that old women and Jews were probably witches and should never be trusted.
    He and Jakob Sprenger claimed that witches could make men's penises detach themselves, slither around, and even eat corn (!).
    One scholar describes them as 'sexually-fixated psychopaths.'
    When Cologne University condemned the book, they forged a good review and circulated it.
    He and Jakob Sprenger used their authority from the Pope to arrest anyone who questioned their work.
    For more than 300 years, their book was used to prosecute, torture and kill innocent people.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Pope Innocent VIII sanctioned his work.
    The book is full of graphic sex, and probably gave 15th-century readers quite a thrill.
    The book was a bestseller, going through 29 editions in just 15 years.

Credit: Wieland Kalligaro


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 8 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 17 Votes: 64.71% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 64.29% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 21 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 21 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 19 Votes: 84.21% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 59 Votes: 67.80% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 63 Votes: 68.25% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 66 Votes: 78.79% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 84 Votes: 73.81% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 125 Votes: 76.00% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 322 Votes: 69.57% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 376 Votes: 69.15% Annoying