Magic and superstition in Europe : a concise history from antiquity to the present / Michael D. Bailey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bailey, Michael David, 1971-

Series:

Critical issues in history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Magic--Europe--History.

Magic.

Superstition--Europe--History.

Superstition.

History.

Europe.

Physical Description:

x, 275 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, [2007]

Summary:

The only comprehensive, single-volume survey of magic available, this compelling book traces the history of magic, witchcraft, and superstitious practices such as popular spells or charms from antiquity to the present day. Focusing especially on Europe in the medieval and early modern eras, Michael Bailey also explores the ancient Near East, classical Greece and Rome, and the spread of magical systems-particularly modern witchcraft or Wicca-from Europe to the United States. He examines how magic and superstition have been defined in various historical eras, and how these constructions have changed over time. He considers the ways in which specific categories of magic have been condemned, and how those identified as magicians or witches have been I persecuted and prosecuted in various societies. Although conceptions of magic have changed over time, the author shows how magic has almost always served as a boundary marker separating socially acceptable actions from illicit ones, and more generally the known and understood from the unknown and occult.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Roots in the Ancient World 9

Chapter 2 The Rise of Christianity and Early Medieval Europe to the Year 1000 43

Chapter 3 Varieties of Magic in the High and Late Middle Ages, 1000-1500 77

Chapter 4 The Medieval Condemnation of Magic, 1000-1500 107

Chapter 5 Witchcraft and Witch Hunting in the Early Modern Period, 1500-1800 141

Chapter 6 From Renaissance to Enlightenment, 1450-1800 179

Chapter 7 Magic in the Modern West from 1800 215.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-262) and index.

ISBN:

0742533867

0742533875

OCLC:

70267160

Publisher Number:

9780742533868

9780742533875