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Libra Esoterica

Elizabethan demonology

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Also known as Elizabethan Demonology: An Essay in Illustration of the Belief in the Existence of Devils, and the Powers Possessed By Them, As It Was Generally Held During the Period of the Reformation, and the Times Immediately Succeeding; With Special Reference to Shakspere and His Works; Elizabethan demonology; an essay in illustration of the belief in the existence of devils, and the powers possessed by them, as it was generally held during the period of the reformation, and the times immediately succeeding; with special reference to Shakspere and his works; Elizabethan demonology; an essay in illustration of the belief in the existence of devils, and the powers possessed by them, as it was generally held during the period of the Reformation, and the times immediately succeedings; with special reference to Shakspere and his works

by Thomas Alfred Spalding

  • First published:
  • 19th century
  • Language: English
  • Content type: Primary source

"Elizabethan Demonology" by Thomas Alfred Spalding is a scholarly treatise written in the late 19th century. The work explores the prevalent beliefs in demons, devils, and the supernatural during the Elizabethan era, particularly in relation to the works of William Shakespeare. The book delves into the historical context, examining how these beliefs shaped societal views and the production of literature during the Reformation and its aftermath. At the start of the essay, the author sets the stage for a deep exploration of Elizabethan thoughts related to demonology, arguing that understanding these beliefs is crucial for comprehending Shakespeare's works. Spalding introduces the challenges of interpreting older literature without a grasp of the historical and cultural context that influenced its creation. He emphasizes that misinterpretations can arise from modern perspectives, leading to a distorted understanding of characters and themes. The tone he adopts stresses the importance of a thorough engagement with Elizabethan societal beliefs, which serves as the foundation for the new insights he hopes to offer about Shakespeare's portrayals of supernatural elements in his plays. The opening establishes the book's intent to bring readers closer to the authentic beliefs that shaped one of the greatest literary figures in history. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Provenance

Why this book is in the catalog

Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Astrology, Demonology, angelology, and possession, Legendary beings and transformations, Occultism and esotericism, Prophecy, oracles, and revelation, Ritual magic and grimoires, and Witchcraft and folk magic.

  • Occultism and esotericism

    Controlled discovery queries from openlibrary-historical matched “Occultism”. Retained metadata contains “supernatural” in the description, “Occultism” in the subject metadata, and “supernatural” in the subject metadata.

    • “Occultism”· via Open Library
    • “supernatural”· in description
    • “Occultism”· in subject
    • “supernatural”· in subject
  • Controlled discovery queries from bavarian-state-library matched “Magie” and “Zauberei”.

    • “Magie”· via Bavarian State Library Digital Collections
    • “Zauberei”· via Bavarian State Library Digital Collections
  • Witchcraft and folk magic

    A contributing source assigned this topic during controlled cataloging, but the exact triggering term is not present in the merged metadata.

  • Astrology

    Controlled discovery queries from bavarian-state-library matched “Astrologie”.

    • “Astrologie”· via Bavarian State Library Digital Collections
  • Controlled discovery queries from internet-archive, online-books-page, openlibrary, openlibrary-historical, project-gutenberg, and wellcome matched “Demonology” and “demonology”. Retained metadata contains “Demonology” in the title, “Demonology” in the alternative title, “Demonology” in the description, and 3 additional metadata match(es).

    • “Demonology”· via Internet Archive
    • “Demonology”· via The Online Books Page
    • “Demonology”· via Open Library
    • “demonology”· via Project Gutenberg
    • “demonology”· via Wellcome Collection
    • “Demonology”· in title
  • Controlled discovery queries from openlibrary and openlibrary-historical matched “Elementals”.

    • “Elementals”· via Open Library
  • Controlled discovery queries from bavarian-state-library matched “Weissagungen”.

    • “Weissagungen”· via Bavarian State Library Digital Collections

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

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Links to ISBN 0524023743; other editions may be cheaper. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. WorldCat shows libraries near you that hold a copy.

Editions

Open Library reports 21 editions; 6 cataloged here.

Bavarian State Library digitized rare-book edition

Digitized image count: 212; Extent: XI, 151 S. 8"; Shelfmark: Phys.m. 266 d

1880Chatto & Windus; London : Chatto & WindusEnglish—Public iiif reader

A Victorian schoolmaster: Henry Hart of Sedbergh

HathiTrust catalog record

1923———Public view

Elizabethan Demonology: An Essay in Illustration of the Belief in the Existence of Devils, and the Powers Possessed By Them, As It Was Generally Held During the Period of the Reformation, and the Times Immediately Succeeding; With Special Reference to Shakspere and His Works

The Online Books Page curated catalog record

1880

1880———Source listed online copy

Subjects

17 subject headings

Identifiers & provenance

How this record was assembled, and the authority identifiers it carries.

Identifiers

Bavarian State Library

Cataloging notes

  • B3Kat identifier: BV021099270
  • Bavarian State Library shelfmark: Phys.m. 266 d
  • Contributing institution: Duke University Libraries
  • Contributing institution: Robarts - University of Toronto
  • Digitization license: https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/
  • Digitization sponsor: Duke University Libraries
  • Digitization sponsor: MSN
  • Discovery required Internet Archive search metadata to report a PDF format; the exact direct-file URL is added only after the item's file listing confirms an unrestricted PDF filename.
  • Holding institution or provenance: München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
  • Internet Archive institutional collection: americana
  • Internet Archive institutional collection: toronto
  • Open Library reports 10 editions; this snapshot catalogs one representative edition and preserves work-level ISBN, date, and publisher aggregates.
  • Open Library reports 2 editions; this snapshot catalogs one representative edition and preserves work-level ISBN, date, and publisher aggregates.
  • Open Library reports 21 editions; this snapshot catalogs one representative edition and preserves work-level ISBN, date, and publisher aggregates.
  • Original print publication date and source edition are absent from Project Gutenberg metadata.
  • Publication place: London
  • Scanner: ias3
  • Scanner: scribe1.durham.archive.org
  • Source-listed Library of Congress call number(s): BF1517.G7 S7
  • Source-listed Library of Congress call number(s): BF1517.G7 S7 1880
  • The Online Books Page bibliographic note: 1880
  • The Online Books Page bibliographic note: London: Chatto and Windus, 1880
Catalog id
openlibrary-work:OL12471215W
Edition coverage
Multi source partial
Retrieved