Product Description

The history of witchcraft and sorcery has attracted a great deal of interest and debate, but until now studies have been largely from the Anglo-Saxon perspective. This book shows how what has hitherto been seen as peculiar to Britain was in fact characteristic of much of northern Europe. In ending the Anglo-Saxon monopoly of witchcraft studies, this book takes into account major new developments in the historiography of witchcraft. An immense amount of archival work by all the contributors has furnished a volume rich in new material and ideas, which will be of considerable interest not only to historians, but also to anthropologists, criminologists, psychologists, and sociologists. Themes treated include the relationship between witchcraft, law, and theology; the origins and nature of the witches' sabbath; the sociology and criminology of witch-hunting; and the comparative approach to European witchcraft. This book will be an indispensable guide to the study of witchcraft.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #154834 in Books
• Published on: 1993-05-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Times Literary Supplement
`makes a superb contribution to historical scholarship.'

Review
possesses the virtue of presenting a wealth of material in terms of a coherent analytical framework. (Times Higher Education Supplement )

makes a superb contribution to historical scholarship. (Times Literary Supplement )

Retains a freshness of approach largely because it contains so many interesting studies ... All the essays have something valuable to contribute to our understanding. (History Today )

History Today
`Retains a freshness of approach largely because it contains so many interesting studies ... All the essays have something valuable to contribute to our understanding.'

Customer Reviews

invaluable
Shying away from giving a European overview of the witch-hunts, Ankarloo & Henningsen have collected together an invaluable anthology of essays dealing with the causes, events and effects of the witch-hunts in too-often overlooked countries of Europe (particularly in the Scandinavian region) with contributions even from some of the prominent scholars in the field such as Stuart Clark and E. William Monter.

By focusing upon these 'peripheries', we are given an insight into the witch-hunts from the opposite end of the spectrum of intensity as well access to meticulously researched articles on the witch-hunts in countries that have otherwise little material on the subject to their name.

One word of caution for the casual reader, though: although clearly and competently written, this is intended for academic reference, not as a piece of popular history.

In short, this book provides a series of excellent microcosmic and macrocosmic studies on the European witch-hunts from the 16th to the 18th centuries. It is, in my opinion, a mandatory addition to any student or scholar's library who're researching the subject.