The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe. Vol. 3. The Middle Ages 3

Between the age of St. Augustine and the sixteenth century reformations magic continued to be both a matter of popular practice and of learned inquiry. This volume deals with its use in such contexts as healing and divination and as an aspect of the knowledge of nature's occult virtues and secrets. The roots of European witchcraft and magic lie in Hebrew and other ancient Near Eastern cultures and in the Celtic, Nordic, and Germanic traditions of the continent. For two millennia, European folklore and ritual have been imbued with the belief in the supernatural, yielding a rich trove of histories and images.Witchcraft and Magic in Europe combines the traditional approaches of political, legal, and social historians with a critical synthesis of cultural anthropology, historical psychology, and gender studies. The series, completed with three new volumes, provides a modern, scholarly survey of the supernatural beliefs of Europeans from ancient times to the present day. Each volume of this ambitious six-volume series contains the work of distinguished scholars chosen for their expertise in a particular era or region.During the Middle Ages a shared European concept of magic emerged. In the early period, pagan beliefs and practices were absorbed into everyday culture, including the rituals of the Church. The rise of the practice of "white magic" in the twelfth century became so popular that it caused a widespread determination in the Church to condemn any unsanctioned beliefs or practices. The Church and state, both centralized powers in a decentralized Europe, gradually sharpened their attitude toward magic in general, and sorcery and witchcraft in particular, paving the way for the violent outbreaks of witch persecutions in early modern Europe. Introduction (Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark) Part I: Medieval Magic : Definitions, Beliefs, Practices (Karen Jolly) Chapter 1: Definitions of Magic Chapter 2: Beliefs about Magic: Conceptual Shifts and the Nature of Evidence Chapter 3: The Practice of Magic: Popular and Courtly Traditions Part II: Trolldómr in Early Medieval Scandinavia (Catharina Raudvere) Introduction Chapter 1: The Concept of Trolldómr: Mentalities and Beliefs Chapter 2: Trolldómr Rituals: Practice and Performance Chapter 3: the Legal Code: Law and Trial Bibliographical Note Notes Part III: The Medieval Church and State on Superstition, Magic and Witchcraft : From Augustine to the Sixteenth Century (Edward Peters) Chapter 1: Superstition and Magic from Augustine to Isidore of Seville Chapter 2: Superstition and Magic in the Germanic Law Collections Chapter 3: Early Canon Law and Carolingian Legislation to 1100 Chapter 4: The Legal and Theological Literature of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries Chapter 5: Political Sorcery at the Turn of the Fourtenth Century Chapter 6: Sorcerer and Witch Chapter 7: Superstition, Magic and Witchcraft on the Eve of Reformation Bibliography Notes

During the Middle Ages a shared European concept of magic emerged. In the early period, pagan beliefs and practices were absorbed into everyday culture, including the rituals of the Church. The rise of the practice of "white magic" in the twelfth century became so popular that it caused a widespread determination in the Church to condemn any unsanctioned beliefs or practices. The Church and state, both centralized powers in a decentralized Europe, gradually sharpened their attitude toward magic in general, and sorcery and witchcraft in particular, paving the way for the violent outbreaks of witch persecutions in early modern Europe.

Witchcraft and Magic in Europe combines the traditional approaches of political, legal, and social historians with a critical synthesis of cultural anthropology, historical psychology, and gender studies. The series, complete in six volumes, provides a modern, scholarly survey of the supernatural beliefs of Europeans from ancient times to the present day. Each volume of this ambitious six-volume series contains the work of distinguished scholars chosen for their expertise in a particular era or region.

"The roots of European witchcraft and magic lie in Hebrew and other ancient Near Eastern cultures and in the Celtic, Nordic, and Germanic traditions of the continent. For two millennia, European folklore and ritual have been imbued with the belief in the supernatural, yielding a rich trove of histories and images." "Witchcraft and Magic in Europe combines traditional approaches of political, legal, and social historians with a critical synthesis of cultural anthropology, historical psychology, and gender studies."--Jacket The eighteenth century saw the end of witch trials everywhere. The authors chart the process of and reasons for the decriminalization of witchcraft, but also challenge the widespread assumption that Europe then became "disenchanted." Here for the first rime are surveys of the social role of witchcraft in European communities, as well as a full treatment of Victorian supernaturalism and of the continued importance of witchcraft and magic as topics of debate among intellectuals and other writers. Witchcraft continues to play a role in the modern European imagination and in its cultures. This book brings together studies of its most important modern manifestations, including a new history of English Wicca, and satanic abuse mythology. This series looks at the history of witchcraft and magic in Europe from the earliest times to the present day. This volume looks at the Middle Ages Karen Jolly, Catharina Raudvere, Edward Peters. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [246]-272) And Index.