Research Catalog

The magician, the witch, and the law / Edward Peters.

Title
The magician, the witch, and the law / Edward Peters.
Author
Peters, Edward, 1936-
Publication
[Philadelphia] : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1978.

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Additional Authors
University of Pennsylvania. Press publisher.
Description
xviii, 218 p.; 24 cm.
Summary
Drawing a distinction between medieval "magic" and early modern "witchcraft," Edward Peters argues that early medieval magic was considered a practical science, requiring study and skill. But as European society became more articulate and self-conscious, the old tradition of magic as a science became associated with heresy and sorcery. Thereafter the Middle Ages knew no safe, learned magic that was not subject to accusation of diabolism in one form or another, and the magician, like the later witch, could be punished for both spiritual and temporal offenses. Through Peters's analysis of the legal, ecclesiastical, and literary responses to this problem, magic and witchcraft are located more accurately in the cultural context of the time, providing important new insights into medieval history.
Series Statement
Middle Ages
Uniform Title
Middle Ages series
Subject
  • Eimeric, Nicolau, 1320-1399
  • Geschichte 1000-1300
  • Witchcraft > history
  • Jurisprudence > history
  • History, Medieval
  • Magic > history
  • Magic > History
  • Witchcraft > History
  • Law, Medieval
  • Europe
Genre/Form
History
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Processing Action (note)
  • committed to retain
Contents
Introduction: Magic in Medieval Culture -- The Transformations of the Magus -- Rhetoric and Magic in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries -- Learning and Magic in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries -- The Systematic Condemnation of Magic in the Thirteenth Century -- The Sorcerer's Apprentice -- The Magician, the Witch, and the Law -- Res fragilis: Torture in Early European Law -- Nicholas Eymeric: On Heresy, Magic, and the Inquisitor -- The Magician, the Witch and the Historians.
ISBN
  • 0812277465
  • 0812211014 (pbk.)
LCCN
^^^78051341^
OCLC
  • 3892374
  • SCSB-10418542
Owning Institutions
Harvard Library