Dami..
I would say that it is fact.. whilst I cant find any reference to the fact that it was English, I have found out during the following research that the Inquisition Judges used the article as a reference.
The Malleus Maleficarum (The Witch Hammer), first published in 1486, is arguably one of the most infamous books ever written, due primarily to its position and regard during the Middle Ages. It served as a guidebook for Inquisitors during the Inquisition, and was designed to aid them in the identification, prosecution, and dispatching of Witches. It set forth, as well, many of the modern misconceptions and fears concerning witches and the influence of witchcraft. The questions, definitions, and accusations it set forth in regard to witches, which were reinforced by its use during the Inquisition, came to be widely regarded as irrefutable truth. Those beliefs are held even today by a majority of Christians in regard to practitioners of the modern “revived” religion of Witchcraft, or Wicca. And while the Malleus itself is largely unknown in modern times, its effects have proved long lasting. I would say that it is fact. As evidenced below in the research I did, we can see that the Inquistion Court used that particular book as a reference when they were seeking out witches.
Even with the papal bull the German inquisitors found their preparation incomplete. Soon after their return from Rome they set about compiling a handbook - an exposition of witchcraft and a code of procedure for detection and punishment of witches. Completed in 1486, it was called the Hammer of Witches
The Malleus Maleficarum is one of the most blood-soaked works in human history, in that its very existence reinforced and validated Catholic beliefs which led to the prosecution, torture, and murder, of tens of thousands of innocent people.
