Witch beliefs and witch trials in the Middle Ages
Subtitle: documents and readings
By: P.G. Maxwell-Stuart
Publisher: Continuum
Published: 2011
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 228
ISBN-13: 9781441109804; 9781441149657
Subjects: Trials (Witchcraft); Witchcraft; History
Description: This title features new translations of primary documents of a crucial period in the development of attitudes to witchcraft. In 1901, a rich collection of extracts from documents relating to witch beliefs and witch trials in the Middle Ages - Hexenwahns und der Hexenverfolgung in Mittelalter - was published. Most of the original documents are in Latin, with some in medieval German and French, and it has been left largely untranslated, making the material inaccessible, and neglected. This new translation of the key documents will enable students and scholars to look afresh at this crucial period in the development of attitudes towards witchcraft. Through the translated extracts we can see the beliefs and activities which had been formally condemned by ecclesiastical and secular authorities, but which had not yet become subject to widespread eradicating pogroms, start to be allied with heresy and with changing conceptions of demonic activity. The extensive introductory essay gives the reader the historical, theological, intellectual and social background and contexts of the translated documents. The translations themselves will all have introductory notes. This volume will contribute significantly to our understanding of the witchcraft phenomenon in the Middle Ages.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-224) and index.
Table of contents: title: Pt. 1. Papal decisions, decrees and letters, 1258-1524; title: pt. 2. Literature on magic and witches, c.1270-c.1505; title: pt. 3. Trials of witches and other workers of magic (a) conducted by inquisitors, 1245-1540; title: pt. 4. Trials of witches and other workers of magic (b) conducted by secular courts, 1304-1540.