De praestigiis daemonum

De praestigiis daemonum, translated as On the Tricks of Demons,[1] is a book by medical doctor Johann Weyer, also known as Wier, first published in Basel in 1563.

In brief, Weyer claimed that cases of alleged witchcraft were psychological rather than supernatural in origin.

[4] The book contains a famous appendix also circulated independently as the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, a listing of the names and titles of infernal spirits, and the powers alleged to be wielded by each of them.

[5] Weyer's reason for presenting this material was not to instruct his readers in diabolism, but rather to "expose to all men" the pretensions of those who claimed to be able to work magic, men who "are not embarrassed to boast that they are mages, and their oddness, deceptions, vanity, folly, fakery, madness, absence of mind, and obvious lies, to put their hallucinations into the bright light of day.

"[6] Weyer's source claimed that Hell arranged itself hierarchically in an infernal court which is divided into princes, ministries and ambassadors.