- Additional Authors
- Levack, Brian P.
- Description
- 1 online resource (xiv, 630 pages)
- Summary
- The essays in this handbook, written by leading scholars working in the rapidly developing field of witchcraft studies, explore the historical literature regarding witch beliefs and witch trials in Europe and colonial America between the early fifteenth and early eighteenth centuries. During these years witches were thought to be evil people who used magical power to inflict physical harm or misfortune on their neighbours. Witches were also believed to have made pacts with the devil and sometimes to have worshipped him at nocturnal assemblies known as sabbaths. These beliefs provided the basis for defining witchcraft as a secular and ecclesiastical crime and prosecuting tens of thousands of women and men for this offence. The trials resulted in as many as fifty thousand executions. These essays study the rise and fall of witchcraft prosecutions in the various kingdoms and territories of Europe and in English, Spanish, and Portuguese colonies in the Americas.
- Series Statement
- [Oxford handbooks]
- Uniform Title
- Oxford handbook of witchcraft in early modern Europe and colonial America (Online)
- Oxford handbooks.
- Alternative Title
- Witchcraft in early modern Europe and colonial America
- Subject
- Note
- Series statement on jacket.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Access (note)
- Access restricted to authorized users.
- Contents
- Witch beliefs -- Witchcraft prosecutions -- Themes of witchcraft research.
- LCCN
- 2013474152
- OCLC
- ssj0000910378
- Title
The Oxford handbook of witchcraft in early modern Europe and colonial America [electronic resource] / edited by Brian P. Levack.
- Imprint
Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013.
- Edition
First Edition.
- Series
[Oxford handbooks]
Oxford handbooks.
- Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Access
Access restricted to authorized users.
- Connect to:
- Added Author
Levack, Brian P.