Overview
Fearlessly, Brian Levack tackles a vast, complex subject and reduces it to a concise and lucid synthesis with consummate skill, challenging old assumptions and casting light into the darkest corners. the essential starting point for the study of early modern witch-beliefs and witchcraft trials.
Dr Malcolm Gaskill, University of Cambridge
Of previous editions:
Now, at last, with Brian Levack’s careful scholarly and critical survey, a thoroughly reliable introduction to the whole literature is available.
History Today
Between 1450 and 1750 thousands of people most of them women were accused, prosecuted and executed for the crime of witchcraft. The witch-hunt was not a single event; it comprised thousands of individual prosecutions, each shaped by the religious and social dimensions of the particular area as well as political and legal factors. Brian Levack sorts through the proliferation of theories to provide a coherent introduction to the subject, as well as contributing to the scholarly debate. The book:
· Examines why witchcraft prosecutions took place, how many trials and victims there were, and why witch-hunting eventually came to an end.
· Explores the beliefs of both educated and illiterate people regarding witchcraft.
· Uses regional and local studies to give a more detailed analysis of the chronological and geographical distribution of witch-trials.
- Emphasises the legal context of witchcraft prosecutions.
- Illuminates the social, economic and political history of early modern Europe, and in particular the position of women within it.
In this fully updated third edition of his exceptional study, Levack incorporates the vast amount of literature that has emerged since the last edition. He substantially extends his consideration of the decline of the witch-hunt and goes further in his exploration of witch-hunting after the trials, especially in contemporary Africa. New illustrations vividly depict beliefs about witchcraft in early modern Europe.
Brian Levack is the John Green Regents Professor in History at the University of Texas at Austin. He has written and edited many books, including The Witchcraft Sourcebook (2004) and Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (1999).
Synopsis
Why did the trials take place? Why did they suddenly expand in Europe at this time? How many trials were there, and where, and how did they end? Using recent findings, this revised edition examines early Europe’s fascination with witches and witchcraft.
- Last edition has sold over 22,000 copies!
- Contains the latest material on this intriguing topic
- Strong endorsements and previous editions have been widely reviewed
Booknews
Discusses the intellectual and legal foundations of the witch- hunts, during which over 100,000 people, mostly women, were prosecuted; the impact of the Reformation; the social context, dynamics, chronology, and geography of witch-hunting; the phenomenon's decline; and the survival and revival of witchcraft. B&w illustrations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)