The immersive and tragic history of a witch trial in Bideford, Devon, England in 1682 puts the “witches” back at the centre of their story and tries to imagine their world with sympathy and insight. This book is a very, very good introduction to withcraft - and by withcraft I don't mean the Neopagan religion of Wicca - it is about witchcraft, or sorcery, from its simple origins as an aspect of fear and protection in less developed societies, using African magic as an example.

We will learn how it evolved from being seen as a threat to Christianity to perceived as gendered persecution, and how trials against chieftains in Africa stoked anger against colonial rule. However, we often hear 'witch-hunt' in today's media, and the misogyny that shaped witch trials is all too familiar. I didn't get much of a sense of Things Developing as we kept jumping about between centuries covering mostly similar stuff.Spanning several centuries and comprising unbelievable facts and little-known legends, meet all the witches of your imagination and learn why, where and how it all began. Yes things are here and a new world is here people are talking without talking and people are seeing in the dark. Ainda é possível refletir também sobre diversas outras temáticas, como a existência de uma bondade humana que seria natural ou não, a existência de extermínios humanos em massa e o que os possibilitariam, dentre outros. But considering how strong the historical section is, the contemporary discussion--which by the way was written in 1980--feels a bit lacking. Jeanne Favret-Saada started her study of magical beliefs among French farmers thinking that she might find some superstitious vestiges of the sort that were laughed at by Parisian intellectuals.

Há muito menos tempo do que gostaríamos, o conhecimento das artes divinatórias, curas, manejo do parto e uso das ervas eram consideradas parte de um conjunto de práticas e características imperdoáveis das mulheres: a bruxaria. I especially wanted to know about women’s stories of witchcraft, and I found that fiction really helped me to imagine their worlds. Besides UCSB, he has taught History and Religious Studies at Berkeley, Riverside, Harvard, New Mexico, and Notre Dame.Paperback has been read and has light wear from handling but still clean and bright with no creasing to spine. Once a tool invented by demonologists to hurt and silence their enemies, witch trials have been twisted and transformed over the course of history and the lines between witch and witch-hunter blurred. Significantly, the book tells the stories of the victims - women, such as Helena Scheuberin and Joan Wright - whose stories have too often been overshadowed by those of the powerful men, such as King James VI and I and “Witchfinder General” Matthew Hopkins, who hounded them.