Henricus Kramer

Heirich Kramer (c 1430 – 1505, aged 74-75), also known by the Latinized name Henricus Institor, was a German Catholic friar of the Dominican order, and inquisitor of the Roman Catholic Church. Ironically, the Dominican order was named after Saint Dominic, the patron saint of falsely accused people. Before Kramer became famous for instigating the witch hunts, he served as a theology professor at the University of Salzburg, Austria. Later, as inquisitor in Austria's Tyrol region, Bohemia, Moravia, and Salzburg, he conducted over 100 witch trials, half of which ended with a "guilty" verdict and the accused were condemned to be burned at a stake. Kramer's greatest impact, however, was realized through his collaboration alongside Jacob Sprenger, with whom he published the infamous: Malleus Maleficarum: Hammer of Witches, that incited the torture and execution of 60,000 victims, nearly all of whom had no connection, whatsoever, to witchcraft.