In 1998, Pegasus Press published "On Witchcraft: An Abridged Translation of Johann Weyer's De Praestigiis Daemonum," edited by Benjamin G. Kohl and H.C. Erik Midelfort, with a translation by John Shea. This is the most accessible English edition for a general reader, but it is not a direct PDF of the original. It is an abridged version, meaning large portions of Weyer's original text were edited or removed.
For centuries, a complete English translation of the main text did not exist. That changed in 1991 when medieval scholars John Shea and Benjamin G. Kohl published
, edited by Benjamin G. Kohl and H.C. Erik Midelfort, which is easier to find for a quick overview. Internet Archive Why This Translation Matters
: An abridged version of the Shea translation, focusing on the most relevant chapters for general study. Pseudo-Monarchia Daemonum de praestigiis daemonum english translation pdf
The table below summarizes the key published English translations of Johann Weyer's De Praestigiis Daemonum and its famous appendix.
The appendix, , was translated into English much earlier by Reginald Scot in his 1584 skeptical masterpiece, The Discoverie of Witchcraft . Free Public Domain Sources for the Appendix:
Similar to the Internet Archive, HathiTrust provides digital access to academic texts for students and researchers affiliated with participating universities. 2. Institutional and University Access In 1998, Pegasus Press published "On Witchcraft: An
Because the 1991 edition is a massive academic volume, physical copies can be rare and expensive. Researchers looking for an English translation PDF typically look to major digital archives:
Is this for , creative writing , or personal curiosity ?
If you would like to narrow down your research, please let me know if you are looking for a (like Weyer's medical views on melancholy) or if you want information on a particular demon from the appendix. Share public link This is the most accessible English edition for
Johann Weyer’s De Praestigiis Daemonum remains a crucial bridge between medieval superstition and modern psychological science. While obtaining a completely free, open-source PDF of the full 1991 English translation can be restrictive due to copyright, utilizing platforms like the Internet Archive, university libraries, or focusing on the public-domain Pseudomonarchia Daemonum sections will provide you with the exact historical text you need for your research.
You may come across sites like elbeddifun.weebly.com claiming to offer an English PDF. This is highly suspicious. The site contains false information (for example, it incorrectly attributes the book to Heinrich Kramer) and is likely an aggregator of unreliable content or a potential vector for malware. These types of "free PDF" sites should always be treated with extreme caution.