In the early Middle Ages, magic was considered a practical science, requiring study and skill. But as European society became more articulate and self-conscious, the old tradition of magic as a science became associated with heresy and sorcery. Thereafter the Middle Ages knew no safe, learned magic that was not subject to accusation of diabolism in one form or another, and the magician, like the later witch, could be punished for both spiritual and temporal offenses. Through Peters's analysis of the legal, ecclesiastical, and literary responses to this problem, magic and witchcraft are located more accurately in the cultural context of the time, providing important insight into medieval history.
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"Peters teases out of familiar tales of fear and fantasy a real picture of those who, in cell, court, and countryside, offered their sinister services to an increasingly credulous world."—History
"Helps to place our understanding of medieval witchcraft into a broader context. . . . Sheds light on the various genres of literature in which magic was discussed."—Speculum
About the Author
Edward Peters is the Henry Charles Lea Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. His publications include Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700: A Documentary History, all available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.
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This review is from: The Magician, the Witch, and the Law (The Middle Ages Series) (Paperback)
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The Hellenic world, as it set about its task of organizing and systematizing knowledge, recognized and defined magic and the figure of the magos. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
nugiis curialium, indiculi superstitionum, crimen magiae, magie antique, political sorcery, consulting magicians, male ficium, manifest heresy, learned magician, inquisitorial process, invoking demons, temporal courts, concerning magic, ordinary gloss, legal universe, witchcraft persecutions, judicial torture, heretical practices, inquisitorial procedure, immanent justice, demonic magic, secular magistrates Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
John of Salisbury, New York, William of Auvergne, Walter Map, Anselm of Besate, Thomas Aquinas, Michael Scot, Arnald of Villanova, Canon Episcopi, Gervais of Tilbury, Jeffrey Russell, Europe's Inner Demons, John of Freiburg, Liber Extra, Peter Brown, Liber Sextus, Ralph of Coggeshall, William of Malmesbury, Gratian's Decretum, Liber Juratus, Norman Cohn, Roger Bacon, Simon Magus, Isidore of Seville, Johannes Andreae New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The Hellenic world, as it set about its task of organizing and systematizing knowledge, recognized and defined magic and the figure of the magos. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
nugiis curialium, indiculi superstitionum, crimen magiae, magie antique, political sorcery, consulting magicians, male ficium, manifest heresy, learned magician, inquisitorial process, invoking demons, temporal courts, concerning magic, ordinary gloss, legal universe, witchcraft persecutions, judicial torture, heretical practices, inquisitorial procedure, immanent justice, demonic magic, secular magistrates Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
John of Salisbury, New York, William of Auvergne, Walter Map, Anselm of Besate, Thomas Aquinas, Michael Scot, Arnald of Villanova, Canon Episcopi, Gervais of Tilbury, Jeffrey Russell, Europe's Inner Demons, John of Freiburg, Liber Extra, Peter Brown, Liber Sextus, Ralph of Coggeshall, William of Malmesbury, Gratian's Decretum, Liber Juratus, Norman Cohn, Roger Bacon, Simon Magus, Isidore of Seville, Johannes Andreae New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 86
books:
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28
books
cite this book:
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- Witchcraft in the Middle Ages by Jeffrey Burton Russell on 12 pages
- Late Antiquity by Peter Brown on 5 pages
- A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics, and Pagans by Jeffrey B. Russell on 5 pages
- Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and seventeenth century England by Keith Thomas on 4 pages
- Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer on 4 pages
See all 86 books this book cites
- The Formation Of A Persecuting Society: Power And Deviance In Western Europe, 950-1250 by R. I. Moore on 6 pages
- The Preacher's Demons: Bernardino of Siena and the Social Underworld of Early Renaissance Italy by Franco Mormando on 4 pages
- La Persécution : Sa formation en Europe, Xe-XIIIe siècles by Robert I. Moore in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Imagining the End: Visions of Apocalypse from the Ancient Middle East to Modern America by Abbas Amanat in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Trial of the Templars by Malcolm Barber in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 28 books citing this book
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