Magic and Impotence in the Middle Ages investigates the common medieval belief that magic could cause impotence, focusing particularly on the period 1150-1450. The subject has never been studied in detail before, but there is a surprisingly large amount of information about it in four kinds of source: confessors' manuals; medical compendia that discussed many illnesses; commentaries on canon law; and theological commentaries on the Sentences of Peter Lombard. Although most historians of medieval culture focus on only one or two of these kinds of source, a broader comparison reveals that...

In recent decades scholars have paid increasingly serious attention to the issue of magic in the medieval period. Moving beyond simplistic notions of witchcraft and supernatural folklore, this Research Companion provides an up-to-date assessment and overview of the latest academic research. Contributions from leading historians of medieval magic demonstrate that a wide range of people were engaged in magical activities from all groups in society, and that a great variety of magical texts were in circulation. Many of these texts have now been edited and recent scholarship has focussed on the...

In many near eastern traditions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam, demons have appeared as a cause of illness from ancient times until at least the early modern period. This volume explores the relationship between demons, illness and treatment comparatively. Its twenty chapters range from Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt to early modern Europe, and include studies of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They discuss the relationship between demonic illnesses and wider ideas about illness, medicine, magic, and the supernatural. A further theme of the volume is the value of treating a wide...