Religion and the Decline of MagicReligion & the Decline of Magic is Keith Thomas's classic history of the magical beliefs held by people on every level of English society in the 16th and 17th centuries and how these beliefs were a part of the religious and scientific assumptions of the time. It is not only a major historical and religious work, but a thoroughly enjoyable book filled with fascinating facts and original insights into an area of human nature that remains controversial today- the belief in the supernatural that still continues in the modern world. |
From inside the book
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Page 184
... persons being sick or haunted , from her elbow to her thumb , craving God for Saint Charity's sake that if [ they ] be haunted with a fairy , yea or no , she may know , and saith that if it be so the band will be shorter and her cubit ...
... persons being sick or haunted , from her elbow to her thumb , craving God for Saint Charity's sake that if [ they ] be haunted with a fairy , yea or no , she may know , and saith that if it be so the band will be shorter and her cubit ...
Page 464
... persons only ( such as witches are ) , but anybody may do it'.1 The English witch , like her Azande counterpart ... persons whose eyes had a special power of fascination , like the man who acci- dentally killed his own cattle by looking ...
... persons only ( such as witches are ) , but anybody may do it'.1 The English witch , like her Azande counterpart ... persons whose eyes had a special power of fascination , like the man who acci- dentally killed his own cattle by looking ...
Page 520
... persons whom Ewen showed to have been executed on the Home Circuit only seven were men.1 Contemporary writers also agreed that witches came from the lowest ranks of society . They were usually beggars , thought Scot ; ' very miserable ...
... persons whom Ewen showed to have been executed on the Home Circuit only seven were men.1 Contemporary writers also agreed that witches came from the lowest ranks of society . They were usually beggars , thought Scot ; ' very miserable ...
Contents
The Environment | 3 |
The Magic of the Medieval Church | 43 |
3 The Impact of the Reformation | 63 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
2nd edn accused almanac Archaeol Ashm Ashmole astrological Aubrey belief Bishop Bodl Cambridge Catholic chap charms Christian Church claimed clergy clients confessed conjuration contemporary courts cunning cunning folk cure curse death declared Devil Diary Discourse Discoverie disease divine doctrine ecclesiastical Elizabeth Elizabethan England English Essex evil Ewen example explain fairies faith Folk-Lore G. G. Coulton Gadbury Gentilisme ghosts God's healing Henry History holy intellectual John John Aubrey John Dee John Gadbury Journ judicial astrology King Kittredge Lilly Lollards London magic maleficent Matthew Hopkins medicine medieval natural Oxford parish persons Physicians plague popular practice prayer predictions prognostication prophecies prophetic prosecution Protestant Puritan records Reformation Reginald Scot reign religion religious Richard ritual Robert Royal scepticism Science Scot Sermons seventeenth century Simon Forman social society sorcery spirits supernatural Thomas thought trans Treatise Tudor William William Lilly William Perkins witch-beliefs witchcraft witches wizard woman