Witchcraft in Early Modern England

 

Over the past decade there has been a tremendous upsurge in both popular interest and original writing on history of witchcraft and witch - hunting in the early modern period. This activity has shown just how complex the subject is.  It is hard for those coming new to it to pick their way through a mass of information and of competing interpretations.

`Witchcraft in Early Modern England' introduces readers to the current state of debate and to future directions for investigation. It covers such fundamental topics as:

* witchcraft as an intellectual and theological problem

* neighbourly tensions related to witchcraft accusations

* the issue of witchcraft and gender

* the problem of the decline of witch - persecution.

The book is characterised throughout by a straightforward approach which guides the reader through the sometimes difficult details of this fascinating but much - misunderstood subject. The interpretative text is accompanied by a selection of documentary extracts, some of them never previously published, which allows the reader to get to grips with witchcraft as it was experienced in the past, and to understand  how historians have constructed their interpretations of early modern witchcraft.

James Sharpe is Professor of History at York University.  A leading authority on witchcraft, his many publications include `The Bewitching of Anne Gunter' (2000).

 

"Altogether a fascinating and stimulating read" Local History

"Altogether a fascinating and stimulating read" Local History

B> Why were witches legally persecuted and what was their place in the popular imagination? James Sharpe examines the historical debate about witches and witch hunts in early modern England, and looks at contemporary views of witchcraft as put forward by judges, theological writers and the medical profession. James Sharpe provides an overview of the current arguments regarding the period and gives flavor of the period through use of contemporary portrayals of witchcraft. Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England includes the important gender dimensions of the witch persecution, and the role of witchcraft in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. And, as the latest book in the Seminar Studies in History series, it is supported by a range of compelling documents. The book concludes with an exploration of why witch panics declined in the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. For readers interested in British history or the history of witchcraft and the witch-hunts.

With the renewed interest in the history of witches and witchcraft, this timely book provides an introduction to this fascinating topic, informed by the main trends of new thinking on the subject. Beginning with a discussion of witchcraft in the early modern period, and charting the witch panics that took place at this time, the author goes on to look at the historical debate surrounding the causes of  the legal persecution of witches. Contemporary views of witchcraft put forward by judges, theological writers and the medical profession are examined, as is the place of witchcraft in the popular imagination. Jim Sharpe also looks at the gender dimensions of the witch persecution, and the treatment of witchcraft in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. Supported by a range of compelling documents, the book concludes with an exploration of why witch panics declined in the late seventeenth century and early eighteenth century. 

 Jim Sharpe is Professor of History at the University of York. He has written widely on the history of witchcraft.

 PART ONE: WITCHCRAFT IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND1. Introduction

2. Elite perspectives on witchcraft: demonology, the law and educated culture

3. Witch trials, witchcraft accusations and the problem of community

4. Witch beliefs: the broader spectrum

5. The decline of witchcraft

PART TWO: ASSESSMENT

6. Summing up

PART THREE: DOCUMENTS

Bibliography

Index