Portland Public Library

Magic and superstition in Europe, a concise history from antiquity to the present, Michael D. Bailey

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-262) and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Magic and superstition in Europe

bibliography

70267160

Michael D. Bailey

Critical issues in history

a concise history from antiquity to the present

"This compelling book traces the history of magic, witchcraft, and superstitious practices such as popular spells or charms from antiquity to the present day. Focusing especially on Europe in the medieval and early modern eras, Michael Bailey also explores the ancient Near East, classical Greece and Rome, and the spread of magical systems?particularly modern witchcraft or Wicca?from Europe to the United States. He examines how magic and superstition have been defined in various historical eras and how these constructions have changed over time. He considers the ways in which specific categories of magic have been condemned, and how those identified as magicians or witches have been persecuted and prosecuted in various societies. Although conceptions of magic have changed over time, the author shows how magic has almost always served as a boundary marker separating socially acceptable actions from illicit ones, and more generally the known and understood from the unknown and occult"--Publisher website (August 2007)

Roots in the ancient world -- The rise of Christianity and early medieval Europe to the year 1000 -- Varieties of magic in the High and Late Middle Ages, 1000-1500 -- The medieval condemnation of magic, 1000-1500 -- Witchcraft and witch-hunting in the early modern period, 1500-1800 -- From Renaissance to Enlightenment, 1450-1800 -- Magic in the modern West, from 1800