Witches and witch hunts through the ages / Phil Carradice.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Carradice, Phil, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Witchcraft--History.

Witchcraft.

Witch hunting--History.

Witch hunting.

Witches--History.

Witches.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 191 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

South Yorkshire, England : Pen & Sword History, 2024.

Summary:

Witchcraft! Just the mention of the name is enough to cause fear, even terror, in the minds and hearts of many people. But that is not the full story. Yes, there have always been proponents of the 'dark arts,' witches and warlocks willing to use their powers for evil, but the wise men and women of the ancient and medieval world - men and women eager to use their spells and potions for good - have often been overlooked. This book looks at witchcraft from the early days, tracing its development as a pseudo-religious cult, the good and the bad, from the wild plains of Babylon to the present day. It highlights witch scares and individuals, particularly the witch hunts of the medieval period when 100,000 women were accused of witchcraft and nearly 80,000 executed. It examines the concept of witch hunting, detailing the activities of men like Matthew Hopkins, the famous Witchfinder General. The book does not just focus on medieval and ancient witches, it takes in modern witch hunting - with people like Senator Joe McCarthy during his Communist witch hunts of the 1950s - and the continued modern persecution of women and men accused of witchcraft in African, Indian and Caribbean states. This is a detailed account of witches and witchcraft, in many ways a tribute to the thousands of men and women accused and executed without full evidence or proof of evil doing. It is a broad historical sweep that includes fictional characters like Morgan le Fey and Merlin, the magician of King Arthur's court. Thoroughly researched and elegantly written, it is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the social and political history of the past.

Contents:

The terror

It begins : witchcraft in the ancient world

Greeks, Romans and a few more besides

A fallow period?

Morgan le Fay and Merlin

The medieval massacre begins

The medieval holocaust

A roll call of witches

The queen is dead, long the witch maker king

Witch hunting : a rise and a fall

The Witchfinder General

The Salem Witch Trials

An end and a beginning

Witch hunts in modern days.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Other Format:

Print version: Carradice, Phil Witches and Witch Hunts Through the Ages

ISBN:

9781399071840

139907184X

9781399071826

1399071823

OCLC:

1544964561