The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers

Heinrich Kramer

(1/3) > >>

Yuillegan:
Heinrich Kramer (not Kemmler) was a german inquisitor (also known by his Latinised name, Heinricus Insitor). He widely distributed the Malleus Maleficarum - literally "the Hammer of the Witches" (1487), which described witchcraft and endorses detailed processes for the extermination of witches.

He was also asked by a Nuremburg council to provide expert consultation on a witch trial.

He was the rough basis of the Warhammer Fantasy character, Heinrich Kemmler, from who Jim has named his own character as a homage.

Heinrich Kemmler in the Dresden Files is a body-swapping, bad ass necromancer who was so feared and despised that he took on the entire White Council and quite nearly beat them. He engineered WW1 and possibly WW2, and seemed to have many unsavoury associations with demons, vampires (particularly Black Court) and the "nastier" faeries. Mab describes him as mad but brilliant, Leansidhe regards him highly and even his own heirs (acolytes) respected and feared him, even if some of them even thought he was mad.

He is one of the few mortals to work out how to eat spirits to become stronger, and eventually figured out how to become a god through that (although he is far from the first mortal to figure out how to become a god altogether). He evaded the White Council for decades and it took the several times to kill him (who knows why they are so sure he is really dead this time, but apparently they are). He seemed to have some business in Illinois just before WW1 and quite possibly was responsible for the Spanish Flu (according to a recent but cryptic WOJ) and Wyatt Earp seemed to cause him some trouble too. He seems to be linked to all the worst sorts, and I am sure he is linked to Outsiders (which, like his name sake, would be a source of his power).

Could Kramer and Kemmler be the same person? I think this is quite possible. I guarantee Jim would know of the connection, but will he use it?

And how does an inquisition priest become a mad, power hungry necromancer?

Con:
Damn. Well researched. I'd forgotten even the Warhammer link.

Have you discovered anything about Society of Thule?

I've only come across general statements and a link to the Nazis, but nothing in depth.

Arjan:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thule_Society

Bad Alias:
It be interesting if he had been a low talent "witch" hunter who was killing other talents to eat their ghosts to gain power. It could also be that Kemmler stole his body at some point and that's where he got his name from, with his true name hidden.

Yuillegan:
Thank you Con.

Ah yes, I knew I had forgotten something.

He is the first person we see using that magical symbol from Small Favour (the pentagram crossed with the Anarchist symbol), the one that used some of the most powerful magic in the series. I have heard an argument that it is some sort of generic black magic symbol...but I wouldn't be so sure myself. Jim has often said he is a lazy writer, I think he put it as a clue in Fistful of Warlocks.

This is where we learn that Kemmler is a member of the Thule Society, a occult society eventually linked with none other than Adolf Hitler. So almost certainly Kemmler or his followers organised WW2.

I will look further into the Thule Society...but my research so far in that area has been slim.

Bad Alias - I do like your first theory. Although the second one brings an obvious question - who or what was Kemmler before he stole that body (if that was his first body)?

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page