Early Modern European Witchcraft

Abstract The history of witchcraft and sorcery has attracted a great deal of interest and debate, but until now studies have been largely from the Anglo-Saxon perspective. This book shows how that approach has blurred our understanding and definition of the issues involved, and sheds new light on witchcraft in England. What had hitherto been seen as peculiar to England is now shown to be characteristic of much of northern Europe. In ending the Anglo-Saxon monopoly of witchcraft studies, this book takes into account major new developments in the historiography of witchcraft - in methodology, and in the chronological and geographical scope of the studies. An immense amount of archival work by all the contributors has furnished a volume rich in new material and ideas, providing an indispensable guide to the subject. The themes treated include the relationship between witchcraft, law, and theology; the origins and nature of the witches' sabbath; the sociology and criminology of witch-hunting; and the comparative approach to European witchcraft.