Includes bibliographical references and index. The witch-hunt in early modern Europe / Brian P. ISBN-13: 978 1 8 ISBN-10: 1 8 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Levack, Brian P.
Levack to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED Edinburgh Gate Harlow CM20 2JE United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1279 623623 Fax: +44 (0) 1279 431059 Website: First published 1987 Second edition 1995 Third edition published in Great Britain 2006 © Pearson Education Limited 1987, 2006 The right of Brian P.
THE WITCH-HUNT IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE THIRD EDITION BRIAN P.
Julian Goodare, Director of the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft It is outstanding for its clarity of exposition, its stress on witchcraft trials as judicial operations, and its careful chronology. This book is undoubtedly the best one-volume introduction to its subject. Dr Malcolm Gaskill, University of Cambridge The book:įearlessly, Brian Levack tackles a vast, complex subject and reduces it to a concise and lucid synthesis with consummate skill, challenging old assumptions and casting light into the darkest corners … the essential starting point for the study of early modern witch-beliefs and witchcraft trials. Brian Levack sorts through the proliferation of theories to provide a coherent introduction to the subject, as well as contributing to the scholarly debate. The witch-hunt was not a single event it comprised thousands of individual prosecutions, each shaped by the religious and social dimensions of the particular area as well as political and legal factors. He has written and edited many books, including The Witchcraft Sourcebook (2004) and Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (1999).īetween 14 thousands of people – most of them women – were accused, prosecuted and executed for the crime of witchcraft. Levack is the John Green Regents Professor in History at the University of Texas at Austin. New illustrations vividly depict beliefs about witchcraft in early modern Europe.Ĭover: 'Execution 1555' (PAS II 12/49) Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Graphische Sammlung. He substantially extends his consideration of the decline of the witch-hunt and goes further in his exploration of witch-hunting after the trials, especially in contemporary Africa. In this fully updated third edition of his exceptional study, Levack incorporates the vast amount of literature that has emerged since the last edition. Illuminates the social, economic and political history of early modern Europe, and in particular the position of women within it. Uses regional and local studies to give a more detailed analysis of the chronological and geographical distribution of witch-trials Įmphazises the legal context of witchcraft prosecutions American Historical ReviewĮxamines why witchcraft prosecutions took place, how many trials and victims there were, and why witch-hunting eventually came to an end Įxplores the beliefs of both educated and illiterate people regarding witchcraft History Today Levack’s logical sorting of a prodigious amount of material has resulted in one of the most informative and comprehensive works of its genre. Now, at last, with Brian Levack’s careful scholarly and critical survey, a thoroughly reliable introduction to the whole literature is available.