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.
MEDIA REVIEWS
Publisher: Penguin Books LtdISBN: 9780140137446Number of pages: 880Weight: 596 gDimensions: 198 x 129 x 37 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
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.)
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