The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the PresentThis “magisterial account” explores the fear of witchcraft across the globe from the ancient world to the notorious witch trials of early modern Europe (The Guardian, UK). The witch came to prominence—and often a painful death—in early modern Europe, yet her origins are much more geographically diverse and historically deep. In The Witch, historian Ronald Hutton sets the European witch trials in the widest and deepest possible perspective and traces the major historiographical developments of witchcraft. Hutton, a renowned expert on ancient, medieval, and modern paganism and witchcraft beliefs, combines Anglo-American and continental scholarly approaches to examine attitudes on witchcraft and the treatment of suspected witches across the world, including in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia, and the Americas, and from ancient pagan times to current interpretations. His fresh anthropological and ethnographical approach focuses on cultural inheritance and change while considering shamanism, folk religion, the range of witch trials, and how the fear of witchcraft might be eradicated. “[A] panoptic, penetrating book.”—Malcolm Gaskill, London Review of Books |
Contents
The Ancient Context | |
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6 | |
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8 | |
9 | |
Witches and Animals | |
Conclusion | |
Appendix | |
Illustration Credits | |
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The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present Ronald Hutton No preview available - 2018 |
Common terms and phrases
accused Africa ancient animal familiar animal form anthropologists appeared associated Behringer belief benandanti bewitchment British canon Episcopi Carlo Ginzburg Central century ceremonial magic Christian claimed Cohn communities concept concerned confessions context cult culture Cunning Folk dead death deities demons developed Devil divine Early Modern Europe early modern European Egypt Egyptian England English especially European Witchcraft Éva Pócs evil fairies fear feature female folklore German goddess Greek historians History human hunt idea images Julian Goodare kill King ladies later literature London magical papyri medieval Melanesia Mesopotamian Middle Ages night nocturnal Norman Cohn Norse northern Oxford pagan popular practitioners recorded region religion rites Ritual Roman sabbath saga Sámi satanic witch scholars Scotland Scottish seems service magicians shamanism social societies sources spells spirits stereotype superhuman texts tradition Western Wild Hunt witch figure witch trials witch-hunting Witchcraft and Magic Witchcraft and Sorcery Wolfgang Behringer woman women