Customer Reviews

Magic in the Middle Ages (Cambridge Medieval Textbooks)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
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If you need a basic review of the beliefs and practices surrounding magic and its use in late antiquity through the witch hysteria of the 17th century, buy this book. It is well-written, fascinating, covers ground not dug up elsewhere, and will lead you to explore the subject further on your own (a hallmark of a great book, I think).

Richard Kieckhefer's "Magic in the Middle Ages" is a relatively short but comprehensive scholarly summary of the long and fascinating history of magic during Europe's middle ages and its relationship to witchcraft. The author analyzes the many varied influences on magical beliefs from classical literature, folk beliefs, magical texts, biblical sources, and contemporary scholarly and theological treatises. He shows how the beliefs in magic changed over time and how each area influenced the popular and scholarly beliefs in magic and the supernatural. Ultimately, he shows that beliefs in magic, like relgion to which it is closely related, changes over time as people's perceptions change. He also shows the relationship between magic and witchcraft and how they both played roles in the witch craze of the early modern period. This book is required reading in many witchcraft and medieval studies classes and justly so.

I will admit to being somewhat disappointed when this book arrived and it was as small as it was. A mere 200 pages of text plus a bibliography isn't much space to address a complex subject such as this. Also as someone who is relatively familiar with a lot of the source material he describes, I figured it would be at best a very simple overview. I was wrong.

This is one of the most accessible yet informative books I have come across on the subject. In many ways it is more informative than many other books in my library of greater length. The author engages in a brief but comprehensive survey of the major influences of medieval magic and discusses their origins and roots. Continuity with pagan sources (both classical and Northern European) takes up more than quarter of the book, and in that area he discusses sources ranging from Pliny the Elder to the Norse Sagas, from defixions (cursing tablets) to runic amulets.

The rest of the book is devoted to the Arabic influences, to the rise of demonology in the Middle Ages, and to patterns of persecution. While the Arabic section is fairly standard in approach and thesis, the chapter on demonology offers refreshing and unique insights into the rise of this ritual form in the Middle Ages. The chapter on legal prohibitions and persecutions attempts to tie the main theses of the book together.

All in all, this is a book I'd highly recommend reading to anyone interested in the development of medieval magical practices.

Great book. It's a "must own" for anyone who is serious about the true history of witchcraft and demonology. If you're looking for a "how to" book, look someplace else. This was one of the main required texts for a course I took at SBC, "The Medieval Other". It looks at witchcraft, demonology, the Catholic Church, and outside influences. Kieckhefer is a great author, and while I don't entirely agree with some of his theories, he IS a pioneer in the historical study of witchcraft. My professor had the good fortune of being acquainted with Kieckhefer-One of the main reasons we used the book for the class. But his book is highly readable, packed full of information. A great book for both the undergrad audience, or just for fun. It does assume you have a little background knowledge of the subject, but it's still very easy to read and anyone with interest in the subject will be able to follow it. Simply put, you must own this book if you're a history nut. Read it, keep it on your shelf. It will be your friend. I bought mine for school, but I will never sell it now that I know what a great book it is.

This was on the reading list for a course that I took at Boston University a few years ago--Magic, Science, & Religion--and for the broad span of history and topics that we covered in that course, this was a good starter.

As another reviewer mention, it's hardly the complete study of magic practise and evolution in the Middle Ages, but it contains some excellent sources and gives the reader a decent idea of what they will be getting into when they do other research in this. If you're just beginning study of this subject, this is as good a place to start as any to give you an overview.

My only complaint, honestly, is its length--because it *is* rather short. There is enough time and space covered in the course of this text that it could include more detailed information, more historical sources, illustrations, and become a genuine text book (and, honestly, it's a subject deserving of a text book).

This book looks at the growth and development of magic in medieval times. The author relates magic to to religion, science, philosophy, art, literature and politics. He also examines how some forms of magic were practiced or allowed by the Catholic Church. Why is this important? Because it shows that some forms of magic were allowed before and during the witch hunts, but that magic practiced by women was punishable by death.

At the end of the book, in talking about the witch trials, Kieckhefer tells us, "The prosecutors were zealots, and like most zealots they were inspired by holy enthusiasm mixed with skewed perceptions. How their perceptions got skewed is a long story, and the telling of that story has been the point of the book." The only complaint I have about the book is that, if this was the point of the book, it would have been very nice if he'd mentioned that this was what he was trying to do somewhere a bit earlier and written the book in a way that flowed from the purpose.

Instead while I was reading this very amusing book, I kept wondering what the point was and if Kieckhefer'd given any thought to its organization beyond scribbling a few chapter titles. The main concern seems to be what the difference between natural and demonic magic, and while Kieckhefer's completely fair (often you can't even tell if he believes in magic or not), the final answer is pretty close to "not much." It has a nice collection of anecdotes and a good discussion of general trends, but none of it ever seems to lead anywhere until the last chapter.

The pointlessness isn't really annoying. Each chapter, from those on Classical and Pagan belief and practice in magic to those concentrating on a single aspect of medieval magical practice is fun. From gossip about the Antipope to the use social insects as oral contraceptives, there's always something interesting around the corner. Even the repitition wasn't particularly glaring.

It doesn't hurt that the book starts off well. The first section "Two Case Studies" describes two books, one a book of instructions for running a large household that included spells and crafts alike and the other a "necromancer's manual" from one of many secret clerical sorcerers (one of which was the Antipope, Benedict XIII). The former included marginal comments by later users that I think I'll end with:

"This is utterly false, superstitious, and practically heretical."

"This would be good --- if it were true!"

Couldn't ask for a better recopilation of information on witches in the middle ages. Reading it made me want to read more about it. If someday I was to loose my book, I'll buy another copy.

This book has about 200 pages of information. At best, I would call it an OVERVIEW, but by no means complete. I was really disapointed by the lack on information regarding Pagan ties to magic. The total number of pages relating to that topic is 7. 7!!! Thats pathetic! Divination is barely touched on... this is just an extremely breif book. I honestly wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless they wanted a concise text about Magic in Literature of the Middle Ages. That is honesly the only topic explained enough.

'Magic in the Middle Ages' takes a profound look at an important part of medieval culture that is most often overlooked by authors and even by professors in the field of Medieval History. The practices in the mentioned time period had major affects on the subsequent practices Europeans. Also, the study looks at the thin line between what were considered religious rituals and that which was considered magic. It looks at the views of Europeans that were heavily influenced by classical thought up until the prohibition of the so-called odd practices of the different types of magic began. It assimilates some of the superstitious practices of today with those of six or seven centuries ago.