Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and seventeenth century England [Paperback]

Keith Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 14, 1997

Astrology, witchcraft, magical healing, divination, ancient prophecies, ghosts, and fairies were taken very seriously by people at all social and economic levels in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. Helplessness in the face of disease and human disaster helped to perpetuate this belief in magic and the supernatural. As Keith Thomas shows, England during these years resembled in many ways today's "underdeveloped areas." The English population was exceedingly liable to pain, sickness, and premature death; many were illiterate; epidemics such as the bubonic plague plowed through English towns, at times cutting the number of London's inhabitants by a sixth; fire was a constant threat; the food supply was precarious; and for most diseases there was no effective medical remedy.
In this fascinating and detailed book, Keith Thomas shows how magic, like the medieval Church, offered an explanation for misfortune and a means of redress in times of adversity. The supernatural thus had its own practical utility in daily life. Some forms of magic were challenged by the Protestant Reformation, but only with the increased search for scientific explanation of the universe did the English people begin to abandon their recourse to the supernatural.
Science and technology have made us less vulnerable to some of the hazards which confronted the people of the past. Yet Religion and the Decline of Magic concludes that "if magic is defined as the employment of ineffective techniques to allay anxiety when effective ones are not available, then we must recognize that no society will ever be free from it."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the three or four outstanding pieces of historical writing to have appeared in the last thirty years."--Paul Slack, History Today

"Thomas's book, so formidable in its scope and so brilliant in its insights, is a major historical achievement as a result of which the period will never look quite the same again."--Economic History Review

About the Author

Sir Keith Thomas is President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and President of the British Academy. His works include Man and the Natural World, and other writings on the social and cultural history of early modern England. He is also the editor of the Past Masters and Oxford Studies in Social History series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 736 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (August 14, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195213602
• ISBN-13: 978-0195213607
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,191,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable Achievement, January 3, 2000

By 

P. A. Agnew (Wellington New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and seventeenth century England (Paperback)

Originally published in 1971, Keith Thomas's landmark book has lost none of its impact over the last 30 years. This book almost singlehadedly founded an entirely new school of historiography in the fields of astrology, magic, religion, and witchcraft. Before 1970, these subjects were largely the domain of storytellers and "new age" authors, who, making little claim to objectivity, would embellish their "histories" with fanciful and/or romantic myths. With this book, Keith Thomas rescued astrology and witchcraft from their terrible predicaments and elevated them into serious issues capable of being studied as history. It is no exaggeration to say that almost every major text published in this field after 1971 was profoundly influenced by Thomas's work. If you are planning to seriously investigate the topics of religion and magic, then this book is indispensable. Even if your investigative scope does not include England, this book is still required background reading.

The first chapter (The Environment) alone is worth the price of admission. In this astonishing piece, Thomas highlights the miserable condition of early modern life. After setting this background, Thomas goes on to discuss the "magic" of the Medieval Church, the various belief systems surrounding it, and the impact that the Reformation had upon the long standing "rituals" of the Catholic church. Becuase the Calvinists placed little trust in the Catholic rituals, many people "felt disarmed in the face of the devil." As a result, much of England and Europe began to fear the impact of astrology and witchcraft on everyday life. But as the quality of early-modern life was so bleak, many English men and women resorted to magical healing and astrology in order to seek refuge from their plight. So, on one hand, many feared astrology and magic, but those same people often sought solace in it as well.

After discussing in detail the significance and practice of astrology in early-modern England, Thomas then goes on to outline the history of the crime of witchcraft. The discussion of witchcraft is probably the highlight of the book. Never had any previous historian (and few since) so clearly outlined the form and function of witchcraft in English society. After a brief chapter on Ghosts and Fairies, Thomas finishes up by drawing connections between the various issues he discusses.

The book includes a comprehensive index as well as excellent bibliographical essays at the beginning of each chapter should anyone want to pursue any topic further. Simply put, this book is a masterpiece that has received few (if any) notable detractors. This book is required reading for anyone interested in this field, and highly recommended to everyone else.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book!, December 7, 2000

By 

Constant Librarian "constantlibrarian" (Columbia, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and seventeenth century England (Paperback)

I first read this book as a history graduate student many years ago, and it still remains one of my favorite books of all time. Thomas set himself a daunting task--ascertaining the effect the change in religion from Catholicism with its beliefs in miracles, saints, transubstantiation to Protestantism with its adversion to miraculous beliefs had on the popular imagination.

Thomas tapped little used sources, the Church court records which included trials for witchcraft or magic to see if he could trace a decline in belief in magic. Thomas concluded that magical belief did decline from the 15th-17th centuries. In my opinion, he proved his case.

Anyone who has done historical research will stand in awe of Thomas' command of sources and his ability to synthesize. Anyone who is more than a little fed up with ahistorical screeds on witchcraft prosecutions a la Margaret Murray, will applaud Thomas's reasoned and credible explaination of the reasons behind witchcraft prosecutions. Basically, witchcraft prosecution in 16th century England filled the same function as it does in contemporary Africa--an attempt to control the uncontrollable.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An astonishing book in every way, March 7, 1998

By 

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and seventeenth century England (Paperback)

RELIGION AND THE DECLINE OF MAGIC is one of the greatest works of history that I have ever read. It is one of those books that is both highly entertaining and massively informative. It is also infuriating, because it is a book that is so full of detail, that it doesn't seem as if one person could have produced it. It makes me feel as if I have been wasting my life.
Thomas's subject is--as the title proclaims--the prevalence of and subsequent decline in magical beliefs in the Great Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries. He surveys magic in a myriad of forms: magical elements within religious practice, village wizards and cunning men, astrology, prophecies, and--in the most famous and frequently referred to section--witches. My favorite sections were those dealing with astrology and witchcraft, as well as the beginning chapter dealing with "nasty, brutish, and short" quality of life at the time in England. The book is filled to the brim with fascinating bits of information, such as the fact that most of the caloric intake of men, women, and even children at the time came from beer, and that at sea an allotment of a gallon of beer a day was made! The inescapable conclusion was that Britain was a nation of alcoholics.

I find it difficult to overpraise this book. Since reading it during the summer, I have found dozens of references to it in various works, and always with the highest praise attached. One of the blurbs on the back of the beautiful new paperback edition recently put out by Oxford University Press claims that it is one of the two or three greatest works of history in the past thirty years, and I have no reason to doubt it. As testament to how highly I esteem this book, I plan on buying a new copy, since the old Scribner's paperback I read barely managed to hold together til the end.

Keith Thomas's other book, MAN AND THE NATURAL WORLD, is also a work of the highest order. My one complaint with Thomas is that he has not written enough books. My hope is that he is working on another.

Note:

Since writing that review Keith Thomas has come out with another work that I just found out about and just ordered. Due to a very heavy reading/writing schedule I'm not going to be able to read it for a while, but I look forward to doing so with enthusiasm. The title is THE ENDS OF LIFE: ROADS TO FULFILLMENT IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND.