Heresy, Magic and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe

ISBN-13: 9780333754337 / Angielski / Miękka / 2017 / 284 str.

Gary K. Waite

Opis

Bringing together the fields of Reformation and witchcraft studies, Gary K. Waite reveals how the early-modern period's religious conflicts led to widespread confusion and uncertainty, against which alleged diabolical conspiracies served to reaffirm orthodoxy. As with the vicious persecution of Anabaptists, witch-hunting was a means of restoring belief in the veracity of official teachings about the supernatural realm. Waite argues that it was only when the authorities came to terms with religious pluralism that there was a corresponding decline in witch panics.

Spis treści

Acknowledgements .- Introduction .- The Devil, Magic and Heresy in the Later Middle Ages .- The Reformation and the End of the World .- Heresy, Doubt and Demonising the 'Other' .- The Reformation, Magic and Witchcraft 1520-1600 .- Religious Conflict and the Rise of Witch Hunting 1562-1630 .- Religious Pluralism and the End of the Witch Hunts .- Conclusions .- Notes .- Annotated Bibliography .- Index.

O autorze

Gary K. Waite is Professor of History, University of New Brunswick.