Witches and Neighbours
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"In this learned and meticulously researched book, Robin Briggs lays to rest many of the modern myths about the witch craze, without in any way diminishing its horror... Briggs skilfully shows how the myths of witchcraft were linked with fundamental human experiences of pain and anxiety... Lucid and important." Karen Armstrong, The Times <!––end––>
"Briggs provides a fascinating psychological insight into the ideological system that produced the trials. To understand them within their own historical context, he argues, is to realize that a belief in the witches′ power was neither irrational nor absurd... the evidence from this compelling book suggests that human actions are far more determined by irrational fears than our social selves are willing to accept." Julia Wheelwright, New Statesman
"I salute [Briggs′s] rigorous and thoughtful scholarship." James Morrow, The Guardian
Review
"In this learned and meticulously researched book, Robin Briggs lays to rest many of the modern myths about the witch craze, without in any way diminishing its horror... Briggs skilfully shows how the myths of witchcraft were linked with fundamental human experiences of pain and anxiety... Lucid and important." Karen Armstrong, The Times "Briggs provides a fascinating psychological insight into the ideological system that produced the trials. To understand them within their own historical context, he argues, is to realize that a belief in the witches' power was neither irrational nor absurd... the evidence from this compelling book suggests that human actions are far more determined by irrational fears than our social selves are willing to accept." Julia Wheelwright, New Statesman "I salute [Briggs's] rigorous and thoughtful scholarship." James Morrow, The Guardian
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First Sentence
In July 1596 the prevot (the local administrator and law enforcement officer) of the small Lorraine town of Charmes reported the arrest of Barbe, wife of Jean Mallebarbe. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
In July 1596 the prevot (the local administrator and law enforcement officer) of the small Lorraine town of Charmes reported the arrest of Barbe, wife of Jean Mallebarbe. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In 'Witches and Neighbours', Robin Briggs provides a wider picture of witchcraft rather than just concentrating on the trials and persecution of supposed witches. He starts by looking at the definition of witchcraft, something that is not often approached in other books of this type.
From there, the book studies topics such as the gender issue. It is commonly assumed that witches are usually female but the author dispels that myth and provides statistical evidence showing 25% of accused or executed witches in Europe were in fact male. He goes on to discuss witchfinders and witch cures, the influence of enmity between neighbours/kin that could lead to false accusations and addresses the issue of mental illness, a topic that is often ignored in other studies of this subject. A well written conclusion pulls all this information together.
As would be expected from a book of this type, an extensive bibliography and list of further reading is included. Although this book can be a little heavy going at times, it is an invaluable sourcebook for undergraduates studying history and probably one of the best to be found on this subject.
From there, the book studies topics such as the gender issue. It is commonly assumed that witches are usually female but the author dispels that myth and provides statistical evidence showing 25% of accused or executed witches in Europe were in fact male. He goes on to discuss witchfinders and witch cures, the influence of enmity between neighbours/kin that could lead to false accusations and addresses the issue of mental illness, a topic that is often ignored in other studies of this subject. A well written conclusion pulls all this information together.
As would be expected from a book of this type, an extensive bibliography and list of further reading is included. Although this book can be a little heavy going at times, it is an invaluable sourcebook for undergraduates studying history and probably one of the best to be found on this subject.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Briggs gives one of the sanest, most carefully documented accounts to date of Europe's witch hunts. Tracing local records across many nations focuses the locale, duration, and scope of the main witch-hunting episodes. Briggs studies what kinds of people were accused of evil, how the whole notion of evil varied, and how the persecutions developed. The reliance on records of specific individuals brings the whole process to light in an understandable way -- in the course of interrogations one accusation led to the next. According to trial records in Lorraine, Georgeatte Didier threatened that if she was accused, "she would accuse others whether they were good women or not". Mengeotte Lausson said that if she was burned, she would denounce her husband's sister Toussaine as well. Chrestaille Wathot said if she was arrested, "I would accuse such important people of witchcraft that they would release me for the love of them". (p. 361) Yet nearby communities were unaffected, because the neighbours refrained from labeling each other as evil.
Such periodic storms of fear are all the more disturbing when we are introduced to the people involved.
Such periodic storms of fear are all the more disturbing when we are introduced to the people involved.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This utterly enthralling book gives the most clear and lucid account of the history of witchcraft. It shows how erroneous are many of the current beliefs about witchcraft, like for instance the common belief that only women were persecuted as witches (overall, about 20% were men). Also the numbers of people put to death have been wildly exaggerated, soemtimes given as several million, whereas Briggs clearly shows that the most likey number was about 40,000. Far from being a case of women being terrorised by male accusers, it seems that most of the accusers in withccraft cases were actually women themselves. This book is packed with fascinating information, and is gripping from beginning to end.
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