Witchcraft in the Middle Ages - Hardcover

Russell, Jeffrey Burton

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801406978 ISBN 13: 9780801406973

Verlag: Cornell University Press, 1972

Inhaltsangabe

All the known theories and incidents of witchcraft in Western Europe from the fifth to the fifteenth century are brilliantly set forth in this engaging and comprehensive history. Building on a foundation of newly discovered primary sources and recent secondary interpretations, Jeffrey Burton Russell first establishes the facts and then explains the phenomenon of witchcraft in terms of its social and religious environment, particularly in relation to medieval heresies. Russell treats European witchcraft as a product of Christianity, grounded in heresy more than in the magic and sorcery that have existed in other societies. Skillfully blending narration with analysis, he shows how social and religious changes nourished the spread of witchcraft until large portions of medieval Europe were in its grip, "from the most illiterate peasant to the most skilled philosopher or scientist." A significant chapter in the history of ideas and their repression is illuminated by this book. Our enduring fascination with the occult gives the author's affirmation that witchcraft arises at times and in areas afflicted with social tensions a special quality of immediacy.

All the known theories and incidents of witchcraft in Western Europe from the fifth to the fifteenth century are brilliantly set forth in this engaging and comprehensive history.

Building on a foundation of newly discovered primary sources and recent secondary interpretations, Professor Russell first establishes the facts and then explains the phenomenon of witchcraft in terms of its social and religious environment, particularly in relation to medieval heresies. He treats European witchcraft as a product of Christianity, grounded in heresy more than in the magic and sorcery that have existed in other societies. Skillfully blending narration with analysis, he shows how social and religious changes nourished the spread of witchcraft until large portions of medieval Europe were in its grip—"from the most illiterate peasant to the most skilled philosopher or scientist."

A significant chapter in the history of ideas and their repression is illuminated by this book. Our growing fascination with the occult gives the author's affirmation that witchcraft arises at times and in areas afflicted with social tensions a special quality of immediacy.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Jeffrey Burton Russell is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Cornell University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1972
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0801406978
• ISBN 13: 9780801406973
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 394
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar