Witchcraft, Madness, Society, and Religion in Early Modern Germany
Subtitle: A Ship of Fools
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 368
ISBN-13: 9781409457336
Subjects: Witchcraft, europe; Reformation, germany; Hysteria (social psychology); Germany, religion; Germany, civilization
Description: H. C. Erik Midelfort has carved out a reputation for innovative work on early modern German history, with a particular focus on the social history of ideas and religion. This collection pulls together some of his best work on the related subjects of witchcraft, the history of madness and psychology, demonology, exorcism, and the social history of religious change in early modern Europe. Several of the pieces reprinted here constitute reviews of recent scholarly literature on their topics, while others offer sharp departures from conventional wisdom. A critique of Michel Foucault's view of the history of madness proved both stimulating but irritating to Foucault's most faithful readers, so it is reprinted here along with a short retrospective comment by the author.