the encyclopedia of demons and demonology pdf

By focusing on various intellectual levels of demonology, from sophisticated demonological thought to the development of specific demonological ideas and ideas within the witch trial environment, the book offers a thorough examination of the relationship between demonology and witch-hunting. The book’s chapters, each written by a leading scholar, cover most regions of Europe, from Scandinavia and Britain through to Germany, France and Switzerland, and Italy and Spain. This book brings demonology and witch-hunting back together, while placing both topics in their specific regional cultures. But how exactly did intellectual ideas relate to prosecutions? Recent scholarship has shown that some of the demonologists’ concerns remained at an abstract intellectual level, while some of the judges’ concerns reflected popular culture. The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology (London: Peter Nevill, 1959).ĭemonology – the intellectual study of demons and their powers – contributed to the prosecution of thousands of witches.

Trials influenced thinking and writing about demons and witches. The essays are European in scope, with examples from Germany, France, and the Spanish expansion into the New World, as well as a strong core of English material. Witchcraft was always a contested idea, never fully established in early modern culture but much harder to dislodge than has usually been assumed. Witchcraft cases must be understood as power struggles, over gender and ideology as well as social relationships, with a crucial role played by alternative representations. Using Keith Thomas's Religion and the Decline of Magic as a starting point, the contributors explore the changes of the last twenty-five years in the understanding of early modern witchcraft, and suggest new approaches, especially concerning the cultural dimensions of the subject. This important collection brings together both established figures and new researchers to offer fresh perspectives on the ever-controversial subject of the history of witchcraft. s Trevor - Roper, The European Witch - Craze, p.

Robbins, The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology ( London, 1959 ).

The encyclopedia of demons and demonology pdf