Strixology is a genre of writing about the reality and dangers of

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

es, their origins, character and power; often in the context of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

or of

demonology Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may ...

. (The Latin word ''strix'' can mean "screech-owl" or "witch".) During the early modern period strixologists refuted the reality of witches and contributed to the decline of

witch-hunts A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern per ...

. As a systematic study, strixology emerged during the period 1431–1439 at the

Council of Basel The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...

- an ecclesiastical council where

theologians Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

and

demonologist Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may b ...

s met and debated what was seen as the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

's work,

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

al observations and confessions of witches. Those issues were not a primary purpose of the council. Nonetheless, the subject of one of the discussions was a peasant named

Stedelen Stedelen (dead c. 1400) was a man who was accused of being a witch in Boltigen, Switzerland between 1397 and 1406. Background After the harvest had failed at his village, Stedelen was accused of using black magic to destroy the crops, killing cat ...

who was believed to have committed '' maleficia'' and who said under torture that he was a part of a secret society of Devil-worshippers. This story was disturbing enough to be reported to the council by Peter of Simmental and described in great detail. This case and similar revelations were later used by the Dominican professor

Johannes Nider Johannes Nider (c. 1380 – 13 August 1438) was a German theologian. __NOTOC__ Life Nider was born in Swabia. He entered the Order of Preachers at Colmar and after profession was sent to Vienna for his philosophical studies, which he finishe ...

, a participant at the council's meetings, as examples in his ''

Formicarius The ''Formicarius'', written 1436–1438 by Johannes Nider during the Council of Florence and first printed in 1475, is the second book ever printed to discuss witchcraft (the first book being Alphonso de Spina's ''Fortalitium Fidei''). Nider de ...

'' (1436-1438) a book that laid the foundations of strixology. Scholars cited this significant work for centuries. Around the time ''Formicarius'' was published, there was a relatively small number of witch-hunt victims - estimated to have been in the hundreds. This changed at the end of the 15th century, partially due to the publication of the infamous ''

Malleus Maleficarum The ''Malleus Maleficarum'', usually translated as the ''Hammer of Witches'', is the best known treatise on witchcraft. It was written by the German Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinized name ''Henricus Institor'') and first ...

'' which cemented belief in the reality of witches and in the higher susceptibility of women to take part in witchcraft. The book proclaimed that “evils which are performed by witches exceed all other sin which God has ever permitted to be done.…”. The Malleus Maleficarum adamantly pushed its views on the threat of witches in society. The text boldly claims that " itchesexist" and "to defend the opposite view steadfastly is altogether heretical"

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