Witchcraft, astrology, divination and every kind of popular magic flourished in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from the belief that a blessed amulet could prevent the assaults of the Devil to the use of the same charms to recover stolen goods. At the same time the Protestant Reformation attempted to take the magic out of religion, and scientists were developing new explanations of the universe. Keith Thomas's classic analysis of beliefs held on every level of English society begins with the collapse of the medieval Church and ends with the changing intellectual atmosphere around 1700, when science and rationalism began to challenge the older systems of belief.
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About the Author
Keith Thomas is a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. He was formerly President of Corpus Christi College and, before that, Professor of Modern History and Fellow of St John's College. RELIGION AND DECLINE OF MAGIC, his first book, won one of the two Wolfson Literary Awards for History in 1972. He was knighted in 1988 for services to the study of history.
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First Sentence
IN the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries England was still a pre-industrial society, and many of its essential features closely resembled those of the 'under-developed areas' of today. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
IN the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries England was still a pre-industrial society, and many of its essential features closely resembled those of the 'under-developed areas' of today. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is unquestionably one of the great works of history written in Englsh in the 20th century. It is hard, over thirty years later, to conceive of just how radical and imaginative this book appeared when it was first published. It not only transformed our understanding of English religious history, but also helped to permanently change our approach to the past. I would encourage prospective buyers not to pay too much attention to the negative comments in some of other reviews: the fact that this book still inspires controversy and debate a whole generation after its first printing is testimony to its greatness.
42 of 47 people found the following review helpful
By T. Mazerolle
Format:Paperback
Keith Thomas's Religion and the Decline of Magic was the first of my books for summer reading, and I doubt that any novel that I choose will be half as entertaining or any text as informative. By the conclusion I felt that I was completing an odessey throughout the early modern era with a sympathy and understanding of a world far different then ours in some respects, yet, as Thomas succinctly points out in the conclusion, profoundly similar. No other history book has granted me a deeper sense of understanding about human drives for stability and for explaination in all things. This is a book that grants insight and understanding far beyond its proclaimed subject matter, with positive and sweeping consequences for the objective thinker
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By Celtic Cymro
Format:Paperback
This was one of my sources for an essay I wrote on how witchcraft, wise men and divination etc were tolerated more in Britain - even more so in Wales - after the Reformation, while in Catholic Europe, thousands were executed for practicing the so-called "dark arts."
When Catholicism disappeared in Britain, so did all its 'magic' (the rites, ceremonies and blessings that had replaced old pagan charms and offerings). Overnight, people lost their protection from those evil spirits out there, and turned to witches' and wise men's charms and spells. You could say it was a mini boom time for wise men and witches! And these gifted people were no fakes either. Being excellent herbalists and healers, they're magic was trusted, and people had faith in their spells - which made them work too. It was no wonder that people began to believe they could also protect crops from bad spirits that caused storms and drought. Their whole livelihoods depended on this magic.
A masterly work, this book is incisive, enlightening, and well before its time.
When Catholicism disappeared in Britain, so did all its 'magic' (the rites, ceremonies and blessings that had replaced old pagan charms and offerings). Overnight, people lost their protection from those evil spirits out there, and turned to witches' and wise men's charms and spells. You could say it was a mini boom time for wise men and witches! And these gifted people were no fakes either. Being excellent herbalists and healers, they're magic was trusted, and people had faith in their spells - which made them work too. It was no wonder that people began to believe they could also protect crops from bad spirits that caused storms and drought. Their whole livelihoods depended on this magic.
A masterly work, this book is incisive, enlightening, and well before its time.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Educational - Read it!
Firstly, I would like to say that one reason that I like to write reviews of books is that it helps me to summarise what I have read and thereby clarify in my own mind what I have... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Herr Holz Paul
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic Work of History - Vital to Understanding the Differences...
The people of the 16th and 17th Century England lived in a demon-haunted world, where witches, spirits, ghosts and fairies were real entities, a world that held all the greater... Read more
Published 19 months ago by F Henwood
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good
Book arived as described and came very quickly. I got this book as I am studying witchcraft and this book did help me with my studies.
Published 21 months ago by Craney091
4.0 out of 5 stars
a grounded, informed survey of magical practise in England from the...
Keith Thomas' classic and controversial work provides a grounded and informed survey of the spectrum of magical and mantic practise in England from the Tudor period into the 17th... Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2009
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Book that is good on what it covers
This book is a classic. It should be read by all serious students of the esoteric and all with a genuine interest in the spiritual history of Western Europe. Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2005 by S. Timmis
3.0 out of 5 stars
Shallow but informative
This book comes highly recommended and is indeed a milestone in the merging of sociology and history in the late sixties. It is however, badly in need of revision. Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2002 by C. SKALA
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