- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Manchester University Press (15 July 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0719056551
- ISBN-13: 978-0719056550
- Product Dimensions: 24 x 16.2 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,626,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Review
Davies presebnts an often stimulating... survey of witch-belief.... "Choice"
Product Description
Most studies of witchcraft and magic have been concerned with the era of the witch trials, a period which officially came to an end in Britain with the passing of the Witchcraft Act of 1736. However, the majority of people continued to fear witches and put their faith in magic long after this law was passed. This book traces the history of witchcraft and magic from 1736 to the year 1951, when the passing of the Fraudulent Mediums Act finally erased the concept of witchcraft from the statute books. This study examines the extent to which witchcraft, magic, and fortune telling influenced the thoughts and actions of the people of England and Wales in a period when the forces of "progress" are often thought to have vanquished such beliefs.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Dr Davies addresses an area of witchcraft studies that has, in the past, been somewhat neglected. Many authors have written about witchcraft and magic in the early modern period, but often their studies stop with the passing of the Witchcraft Act of 1736. That belief in magic ceased in the popular mind with the passing of an act of Parliament is, in itself, beyond belief, and Dr Davies demonstrates that witchcraft practices and beliefs continued well into the 20th century, and provides an important continuity in this popular subject.
Drawing on numerous sources the author addresses many aspects of magic and witchcraft, including informal action against suspected witches, and the ubiquitous "cunning-folk," whose influence has perhaps in the past not been fully appreciated.
Other chapters consider magical literature for the period, both for and against supernatural belief, including almancs, broadsides and chapbooks, and the attitudes of the ruling elite.
But this book is far more than a collection af fascinating witchcraft cases; Dr Davies draws compelling conclusions in an area that requires further research, especially in the field of newspaper reports of "witch trials in reverse" - cases of assault on suspected witches, usually in an attempt to draw blood and break the bewitchment.
"Witchcraft, Magic and Culture" is liberally peppered with examples illustrating Dr Davies' points and conclusions. The book is written in a pleasant and readable style, though authoritative and thought-provoking.
I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of witchcraft, academic of casual reader alike.
Drawing on numerous sources the author addresses many aspects of magic and witchcraft, including informal action against suspected witches, and the ubiquitous "cunning-folk," whose influence has perhaps in the past not been fully appreciated.
Other chapters consider magical literature for the period, both for and against supernatural belief, including almancs, broadsides and chapbooks, and the attitudes of the ruling elite.
But this book is far more than a collection af fascinating witchcraft cases; Dr Davies draws compelling conclusions in an area that requires further research, especially in the field of newspaper reports of "witch trials in reverse" - cases of assault on suspected witches, usually in an attempt to draw blood and break the bewitchment.
"Witchcraft, Magic and Culture" is liberally peppered with examples illustrating Dr Davies' points and conclusions. The book is written in a pleasant and readable style, though authoritative and thought-provoking.
I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of witchcraft, academic of casual reader alike.
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