Witchcraft in Europe, 1100-1700: A Documentary History (The Middle Ages Series) [Paperback]

Alan Charles Kors (Editor), Edward Peters (Editor)

Book Description

Series: The Middle Ages Series | Publication Date: September 1, 1973

In bringing together a rich collection of contemporary accounts of the period, this volume chronicles the rise and fall of the cult of witchcraft that swept through Europe between the 11th and 18th centuries.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Comprehensive, original, scholarly, philosophically searching and meticulously prepared. . . . [This book] reveals the shocking impact of the belief in witches in Europe's Middle Ages, and examines the struggles of thinkers from Aquinas to Luther, Calvin, Voltaire and Hobbes to confront the phenomenon on rational terms. . . . A major work."—Publishers Weekly

"An indispensable source book."—Choice

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (September 1, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812210638
• ISBN-13: 978-0812210637
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,196,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent source of primary texts., May 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Witchcraft in Europe, 1100-1700: A Documentary History (The Middle Ages Series) (Paperback)

This text is a must for any researcher of the European witchcraze. It contains highlights from such influential texts as the Malleus Maleficarum, a first-person account of witch accusations and torture, and various edicts from witch-hating popes. In addition, the black and white photographs of statuary, woodcuts, and paintings are very helpful.

5.0 out of 5 stars Those who don't know history may have to relive it, February 5, 2007

By 

Steve Reina (Troy Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Witchcraft in Europe 1100-1700 A Documentary History (Paperback)

It was the worst of times....

Scientific knowledge was on the wane and people were passionately governed by their superstitions. They believed that the Devil litterally existed; that he had endowed a group of agents to act on his behalf; people who could use mere evil thoughts to harm others; and they believed by removing these people's clothes and shaving their hair and forcing them to walk backwards and by piercing skin and searing flesh they could defeat evil.

Obviously, to our hindsight, the witch hunts were themselves evil but what still eludes us is how eminently modern some of the prejudices were that brought about the witch hunts in the first place. The lack of scientific awareness and the substitution of religious dogma for reason were factors that existed not only then but can and have been repeated.

That the witch hunts came to an end is a matter of history. That they could be replaced by even greater horrors is regrettably a matter of possibility as great as our collective willingness to elevate passion and superstition over reason.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating documents, July 3, 2001

By 

[e-mail] (Lajas, PR, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witchcraft in Europe, 1100-1700: A Documentary History (The Middle Ages Series) (Paperback)

A woman is arrested for witchcraft. She is being taken to an upper-floor. She throws a ball of string out a window and uses it to get out of her predicament.

I usually find collections of primary sources boring. This is an exception. It is probably the best collection available of primary documents on witchcraft beliefs.

Highly recommended even for those not interested in history. Another proof that history is more weird than fiction could ever be.