Guazzo | Compendium maleficarum, Milan, 1608, contemporary vellum

Guazzo, Francesco Maria

Compendium maleficarum in tres libros distinctum, ex pluribus authoribus... collectum, & pluribus figuris, ac imaginibus perornatum. Milan: heirs of Augusto Tradati (Bernardino Lantoni), 1608

4to (205 x 135mm.), woodcut printer's device on title-page, woodcut armorial on verso of title-page, woodcut initials and headpieces, woodcut illustrations, with final blank, contemporary vellum, occasional light foxing or staining

FIRST EDITION of this manual of witchcraft from the Ambrosian cleric Guazzo (or Guaccio), written in around 1605 while he was at the court of Cleves for the trial of a priest accused of bewitching the duke of Jülich-Cleve-Berg. Guazzo is clear that witches fly at night and he explains the various forms of bewitchment, including illnesses both cured and caused. The final book contains liturgical passages to be used for exorcisms.

LITERATURE:

Norman 951; USTC 4031549

PROVENANCE:

Convent of San Francesco a Ripa, Rome, inscription on title-page and faded ink stamp