The witches of Lorraine / Robin Briggs.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Briggs, Robin.

Contributor:

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Witchcraft--France--Lorraine--History.

Witchcraft.

Witches--France--Lorraine--History.

Witches.

Inquisition--France--Lorraine.

Inquisition.

History.

Lorraine (France)--Social life and customs.

Lorraine (France).

France--Lorraine.

Physical Description:

xii, 404 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2007.

Summary:

Based on perhaps the richest surviving archive of witchcraft trials to be found in Europe, The Witches of Lorraine reveals the extraordinary stories held within those documents. They paint a vivid picture of life amongst the ordinary people of a small duchy on the borders of France and the Holy Roman Empire, and allow a very close analysis of the beliefs, social tensions, and behaviour patterns underlying popular attitudes to witchcraft.

Intense persecution occurred in the period 1570-1630, but the focus of this book is more on how suspects interacted with their neighbours over the years preceding their trials. One of the mysteries is why people were so slow to use the law to eliminate these supposedly vicious and dangerous figures. Perhaps the most striking and unexpected conclusion is that witchcraft was actually perceived as having strong therapeutic possibilities; once a person was identified as the cause of a sickness, they could be induced to take it off again. Other aspects studied include the more fantastic beliefs in sabbats, shapeshifting, and werewolves, the role of the devins or cunning-folk, and the characteristics attributed to the significant proportion of male witches. This regional study makes a vital contribution to historical understanding of one of the most dramatic phenomena in early modern Europe, and to witchcraft studies as a whole, as well as illuminating related topics in social and religious history.

Contents:

1 The Dukes and their People: The Context for Witchcraft in Lorraine 9

2 Witchcraft Persecution in the Middle Kingdom and the Great Persecution in Lorraine 29

3 The Practice of Justice 59

4 Close Readings: Themes and Variations 92

5 Fantasies of Evil: Shapeshifting and Sabbats 120

6 Reputations and Communal Interactions 153

7 Witch-Finders, Witchdoctors, and Healers 180

8 Witches in the County of Blamont 218

9 Saint-Die and its Region 258

10 Urban Witches: Saint-Nicolas-de-Port and Other Towns 294

11 Male Witches 331.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

9780198225829

0198225822

OCLC:

163616454