Product Description

With sources including trial records, literary texts, demonological treatise and artistic depictions, from 1400 - 1750, this new anthology looks at the connections between gender and witchcraft and how notions of witchcraft changed over time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #267534 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review

"The Witchcraft Sourcebook will benefit both undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in the study of Western religion and history. It will also serve as an excellent supplemental reader in most general survey courses in Western Civilization. The topic is one that often enthralls students, and it will help them to understand pivotal cultural phenomena that transcended political and religious boundaries." - History in Review

From the Back Cover
This collection of documents illustrates the development of ideas about witchcraft from ancient times to the twentieth century. Most of the sources come from the period between 1400 and 1750, when more than 100,000 people - mainly women - were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe and colonial America.
The sources include trial records, demonological treatises and sermons, literary texts, narratives of demonic possession, and artistic depiction of witches. The documents reveal how contemporaries from various periods have perceived alleged witches and their activities.
Brian Levack shows how notions of witchcraft changed over time. He looks at the connection between gender and witchcraft and the nature of the witch's perceived power.
This anthology provides students of the history of witchcraft with a broad range of sources, many of which have been translated into English for the first time, with commentary and background by one of the leading scholars in the field.