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As the author notes, ‘The early-modern European witch-hunts were neither orchestrated massacres nor spontaneous pogroms. Alleged witches were not rounded up at night and summarily killed extra-judicially or lynched as the victims of mob justice. They were executed after trial and conviction with full legal process’. In this concise but highly-informed account of the persecution of witches Gregory Durston demonstrates what a largely ordered process was the singling-out or hunting-down of perceived offenders. How a mix of superstition, fear, belief and ready explanations for ailments, misfortune or disasters caused law, politics and religion to indulge in criminalisation and the appearance of justice. Bearing echoes of modern-day ‘othering’ and marginalisation of outsiders he shows how witchcraft became akin to treason (with its special rules), how evidentially speaking storms, sickness or coincidence might be attributed to conjuring, magic, curses and spells. All this reinforced by examples and detailed references to the law and practice through which a desired outcome was achieved. In another resonance with modern times, the author shows how decisions were often diverted into the hands of witch-hunters, witch-finders (including self-appointed Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins), witch-prickers and other experts as well as the quaintly titled ‘cunning-folk’ consulted by prosecutors and ‘victims’. Crimen Exceptum (crimes apart). A straightforward and authoritative guide. Shows the rise and fall of prosecutions. Backed by a wealth of learning and research. Extract ‘A range of specialist tests developed to establish that a suspect truly was a witch. These included “swimming”, “pricking” … identifying a witch’s teat, requiring her to recite the Lord’s Prayer or other well-known passage of scripture … and any positive results obtained from the various techniques, such as scratching a suspect or boiling a victim’s urine … to break a spell or to identify who had cast it.’ Review 'An excellent overall history of English witch trials replete with fascinating examples drawn from pamphlets and trial records. The book is written in fluid prose, understandable to the legal layperson. I cannot recommend Crimen Exceptum highly enough to anyone interested in the factual background to witchcraft prosecutions in England.'-- Catherine Meyrick, author of historical fiction.
One of the most intriguing, and disturbing, aspects of history is that most people in early modern Europe believed in the reality and dangers of witchcraft. Most historians have described the witchcraft phenomenon as one of tremendous violence. In France, dozens of books, pamphets and tracts, depicting witchcraft as the most horrible of crimes, were published and widely distributed. Yet, in his new book, The Crime of Crimes: Demonology and Politics in France, 1560-1620, Jonathan Pearl shows that France carried out relatively few executions for witchcraft. Through careful research he shows that a zealous Catholic faction identified the Protestant rebels as traitors and heretics in league with the devil and clamoured for the political and legal establishment to exterminate these enemies of humanity. But the courts were dominated by moderate Catholics whose political views were in sharp contrast to those of the zealots and, as a result, the demonologists failed to ignite a major witch-craze in France. Very few studies have taken such a careful and penetrating look at demonology in France. The Crime of Crimes: Demonology and Politics in France, 1560-1620 sheds new light on an important period in the history of witchcraft and will be welcomed by scholars and laypersons alike.
The excellent reader offers a selection of the best historical writing on witchcraft, exploring how belief in witchcraft began, and the social and context in which this belief flourished.
Examines the motivations, inner spiritual lives, and religious commitments of seven key inquisitors of the Middle Ages.
Taking the kingdom of Denmark as its frame of reference, this volume presents a range of close analyses that shed light on the construction and deconstruction of crime and criminals, on criminal cultures and on crime control from 1500 to 2000. Historically, there have been major changes in the legal definition of those acts that are legally defined as being criminal offences – and of those that are not. This volume explores the criteria and perceptions underlying definitions of crime in a powerful and absolutist Lutheran state and subsequently in a Denmark characterised by social welfare and sexual liberation. It places special focus on moral issues rooted in considerations of religion and sexuality.
Witchcraft and magical beliefs have captivated historians and artists for millennia, and stimulated an extraordinary amount of research among scholars in a wide range of disciplines. This new collection, from the editor of the highly acclaimed 1992 set, Articles on Witchcraft, Magic, and Demonology , extends the earlier volumes by bringing together the most important articles of the past twenty years and covering the profound changes in scholarly perspective over the past two decades. Featuring thematically organized papers from a broad spectrum of publications, the volumes in this set encompass the key issues and approaches to witchcraft research in fields such as gender studies, anthropology, sociology, literature, history, psychology, and law. This new collection provides students and researchers with an invaluable resource, comprising the most important and influential discussions on this topic. A useful introductory essay written by the editor precedes each volume.
Six hundred years ago, the Czech priest Jan Hus (1371-1415) traveled out of Bohemia, never to return. After a five-year legal ordeal that took place in Prague, in the papal curia, and finally in southern Germany, the case of Jan Hus was heard by one of the largest and most magnificent church gatherings in medieval history: the Council of Constance. Hus was burned alive as a stubborn and disobedient heretic before a huge audience. His trial sparked intense reactions and opinions ranging from satisfaction to condemnations of judicial murder. Thomas A. Fudge offers the first English-language examination of the indictment, relevant canon law, and questions of procedural legality concerning Jan Hus and the Holy See. In the modern world, there is instinctive sympathy for a man burned alive for his convictions, and it is presumed that any court sanctioning such action must have been irregular. Was Hus guilty of heresy? Were his doctrinal convictions contrary to established ideas espoused by the Latin Church? Was his trial legal? Despite its historical significance and the strong reactions it provoked, the trial of Jan Hus has never before been the subject of a thorough legal analysis or assessed against prevailing canonical legislation and procedural law in the later Middle Ages. The Trial of Jan Hus shows how this popular and successful priest became a criminal suspect and a convicted felon, and why he was publicly executed, providing critical insight into what may be characterized as the most significant heresy trial of the Middle Ages.
A fascinating collection of essays by renowned and emerging scholars exploring how everyday matters from farting to friendship reveal extraordinary aspects of early modern life, while seemingly exceptional acts and beliefs – such as those of ghosts, prophecies, and cannibalism – illuminate something of the routine experience of ordinary people.