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Overview
Different conceptions of the world and of reality have made witchcraft possible in some societies and impossible in others. How did the people of early modern Europe experience it, what was it, and what was its place in their culture? The news essays in this collection illustrate the latest trends in witchcraft research and in cultural history in general. After three decades in which the social analysis of witchcraft accusations has dominated the subject, they turn instead to its significance and meaning as a cultural phenomenon—to the "languages" of witchcraft, rather than its causes. As a result, witchcraft seems less startling than it once was, yet more revealing of the world in which it occurred.
Synopsis
Different conceptions of the world and of reality have made witchcraft possible in some societies and impossible in others. How did the people of early modern Europe experience it, what was it, and what was its place in their culture? The news essays in this collection illustrate the latest trends in witchcraft research and in cultural history in general. After three decades in which the social analysis of witchcraft accusations has dominated the subject, they turn instead to its significance and meaning as a cultural phenomenon—to the "languages" of witchcraft, rather than its causes. As a result, witchcraft seems less startling than it once was, yet more revealing of the world in which it occurred.
History: Reviews of New Books
Clark provides a very useful introduction in which he discusses recent trends in witchcraft research....
Editorials
From the Publisher
This is on balance a well-presented and coordinated set of essays.
-Sixteenth Century Journal
"The volume's true value lies in the application of a theoretical approach that takes seriously the worldviews of early modern Europeans." --Choice
Clark provides a very useful introduction in which he discusses recent trends in witchcraft research....