A History of Magic and Witchcraft | Free Book
Sabbats, Satan & Superstitions in the West
The author of Magic and Masculinity explores the history and
development of magic and witchcraft in Western society.
Broomsticks, cauldrons, familiars, and spells—magic and
witchcraft conjure a vivid picture in our modern-day imagination.
While much of our understanding is rooted in superstition and myth,
the history of magic and witchcraft offers a window into the past. It
illuminates the lives of ordinary people in the past and elucidates
the fascinating pop culture of the premodern world. Blowing
away folkloric cobwebs, this enlightening new history dispels many
misconceptions surrounding witchcraft and magic that we still hold
today. From Ancient Greece and Rome to the Middle Ages and the Early
Modern Era, historian Frances Timbers details the impact of
Christianity and popular culture in the construction of the figure of
the “witch.” The development of demonology and ceremonial magic is
combined with the West’s troubled past with magic and witchcraft to
chart the birth of modern Wiccan and Neopagan movements in England and
North America. Witchcraft is a metaphor for oppression in an
age in which persecution is an everyday occurrence somewhere in the
world. Fanaticism, intolerance, prejudice, authoritarianism, and
religious and political ideologies are never attractive. Beware the
witch hunter!
About the Author
Frances Timbers holds a PhD in British History from the University of Toronto and has published two books on witchcraft and magic: Magic and Masculinity: Ritual Magic and Gender in the Early Modern Era and The Magical Adventures of Mary Parish: The Occult World of Seventeenth-Century London. She has also published a number of peer-reviewed journal articles. She is currently an adjunct professor at Trent University in Canada.
- Title: A History of Magic and Witchcraft | Free Book
- Author: Steven
- Created at : 2024-10-22 20:16:20
- Updated at : 2024-10-27 02:20:18
- Link: https://novels-ebooks.techidaily.com/210160374-9781526731845-a-history-of-magic-and-witchcraft/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.