Religion and the Decline of Magic
Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century England
1st Edition
Published on 30. January 2003
880 pages
978-0-14-193240-8 (ISBN)
Description
Witchcraft, astrology, divination and every kind of popular magic flourished in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from the belief that a blessed amulet could prevent the assaults of the Devil to the use of the same charms to recover stolen goods. At the same time the Protestant Reformation attempted to take the magic out of religion, and scientists were developing new explanations of the universe. Keith Thomas's classic analysis of beliefs held on every level of English society begins with the collapse of the medieval Church and ends with the changing intellectual atmosphere around 1700, when science and rationalism began to challenge the older systems of belief.
Reviews / Votes
Monumental ... with a living treasure on each page, and probably the book that, in my whole life, I've pressed on other people most energetically. (Selected people, of course. They have to care for history, and they need a sense of wonder and a sense of fun.) -- Hilary Mantel * New York Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
File size
1,24 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-14-193240-8 (9780141932408)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Keith Thomas
Religion and the Decline of Magic
Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century England
Book
01/2003
Penguin Books Ltd
€24.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Keith Thomas is a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. He was formerly President of Corpus Christi College and, before that, Professor of Modern History and Fellow of St John's College. RELIGION AND DECLINE OF MAGIC, his first book, won one of the two Wolfson Literary Awards for History in 1972. He was knighted in 1988 for services to the study of history.
