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Title details for The Witch by Ronald Hutton - Available

The Witch

A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present

by Ronald Hutton
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This “magisterial account” explores the fear of witchcraft across the globe from the ancient world to the notorious witch trials of early modern Europe (The Guardian, UK).
The witch came to prominence—and often a painful death—in early modern Europe, yet her origins are much more geographically diverse and historically deep. In The Witch, historian Ronald Hutton sets the European witch trials in the widest and deepest possible perspective and traces the major historiographical developments of witchcraft.
 
Hutton, a renowned expert on ancient, medieval, and modern paganism and witchcraft beliefs, combines Anglo-American and continental scholarly approaches to examine attitudes on witchcraft and the treatment of suspected witches across the world, including in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia, and the Americas, and from ancient pagan times to current interpretations. His fresh anthropological and ethnographical approach focuses on cultural inheritance and change while considering shamanism, folk religion, the range of witch trials, and how the fear of witchcraft might be eradicated.
 
“[A] panoptic, penetrating book.”—Malcolm Gaskill, London Review of Books

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 11, 2020

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

      • ISBN: 9780300231243

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780300231243
      • File size: 2705 KB

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780300231243
      • File size: 3263 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from September 1, 2017

      In this comprehensive study of the factors leading to the European witch hunts of the late Middle Ages and early modern era, Hutton (history; Univ. of Bristol; Pagan Britain) draws upon research in history, anthropology, and folklore studies to pinpoint the characteristics of the typical witch figure and to identify global occurrences of the archetype. The author then narrows his focus to Europe and the Near East, tracing factors over time that contributed to the development of a widespread fear of satanic witches believed to threaten both the safety of local communities and the stability of the Christian faith. Cultural traditions of nocturnal female demons combined with a criticism of elite ceremonial magic to create this concept, which Hutton identifies as the primary catalyst for the vicious persecutions that spread across the continent beginning in the late Middle Ages. Particularly fascinating are Hutton's findings regarding the lack of a strong fear of witches in the Celtic areas of Britain, where an enduring belief in fairies diverted the blame for uncanny misfortunes away from practitioners of alchemy. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers interested in witch trials, European folklore, and the history of magical beliefs and practices.--Sara Shreve, Newton, KS

      Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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