Peter Binsfeld
Peter Binsfeld (alternate spelling Peter of Binsfeld, lat. Petrus Binsfeldius; c. 1540 – 1598[1] or 1603)[2] was a German auxiliary bishop and theologian.
Peter, a son of a farmer and craftsman, was born in the village of
Education and career
Considered by a local abbot to be a very gifted boy, Peter Binsfeld was sent to Rome for study.
After his studies, Binsfeld returned to his home region and became an important personality in the anti-Protestant Catholic activities of the late 16th century. He was elected
He thought that girls under age twelve and boys under age fourteen could not be considered guilty of practising witchcraft, but due to the precocity of some children the law should not be completely strict. This point of view can be considered as moderate, taking into account that some tribunals had condemned children between two and five years of age to be burnt at the stake.
Contrary to other authors of the time, Binsfeld doubted the ability of shapeshifting and the validity of the diabolical mark.
In 1589 Binsfield published an influential list of demons and their associated sins, including the demons associated with the
See also
References
- ^ Witch hunts in Europe and America: an encyclopedia By William E. Burns, p.x, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003
- ^ Compendium Maleficarum, vol 2, By Francesco Maria Guazzo, p. 86, Kessinger Publishing, 2003
- ^ Witch hunts in Europe and America: an encyclopedia By William E. Burns, p. xxx, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003
- ^ Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology, By Rosemary Guiley, p. 28-29, Facts on File, 2009.
- ^ Witch hunts in Europe and America: an encyclopedia By William E. Burns, p. 33, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003.
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