Description
Book SynopsisSteven P. Marrone is Professor of History at Tufts University, USA.
Trade ReviewThis is an interesting, enjoyable, and important contribution to the history of magic and witchcraft, with its epicenter remaining in the author’s traditional power base of expertise. * Ronald Hutton, Magic Ritual and Witchcraft, Vol. 12 (1) *
Steven Marrone charts his own way through the vast literature in different fields of research … Marrone’s book, which provides a good synoptic view, will be a suitable reader for classes; furthermore, it should be a precursor to more research in the field, especially into the transitions between science and magic in the early modern period. * Frank Sobiech, Isis, Vol. 108 (3) *
This is a wide-ranging book, which scholars and students alike will find useful. Steven P. Marrone examines the religious and scientific discourses that the modern world tends to separate, but which once flowed together in a single stream of knowledge and enquiry … Marrone has read widely, uses vivid examples, tells a good story, and simplifies some complex ideas about medieval magic to make them intelligible to lay readers. * Malcolm Gaskill, European History Quarterly, Vol. 46 (4) *
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Superstition, Science and Magic, 200 BCE–1200 CE 2. Popular Belief and the Rationalization of Religion, 700–1300 3. Science, Magic and the Demonic, 1200–1400: The Catalyst 4. Science, Magic and the Demonic, 1200–1400: The Reaction 5. The Witchcraze and the Crisis of Early Modern Europe, 1400–1650 6. Desacralized Science and Social Control, 1500–1700 Conclusion Notes Index.
