The Sorcerer's Tale: Faith and Fraud in Tudor England
When he came across a foolish young 16th-century aristocrat's confession of attempting to murder his wife and father by sorcery, Ryrie (church history, Durham Univ.;Britain Reformed: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain 1485–1603) discovered a fascinating way to introduce readers to the deeply entangled worlds of Tudor-era magic, medicine, and religion. The young man had himself been conned, and it is the story of the con man, a would-be physician and magician named Gregory Wisdom, that's at the heart of this book. Ryrie shows how Wisdom fits into the murky boundaries between medicine and fraud (he lacked university credentials) and probably met other con men frequenting Tudor England's notorious gaming houses and brothels during a time when the deadly new disease, syphilis, was increasing the demand for "medical" help. Ryrie discusses Widsom's medical schemes and how the belief in magic, whether the esoteric magic learned from Renaissance scholars or the more mercenary practices of small-time conjurers, was common even as successive Tudor rulers tried to control it. Ryrie's book skillfully illuminates an age when political upheaval and the turmoil of belief that accompanied the Reformation could make the magical claims of a fraud like Wisdom seem plausible. With detailed notes. Recommended for academic libraries.—Larry Milliken, Drexel Univ., PhiladelphiaCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.