Ritual, Myth and Magic in Early Modern Europe - University of Reading

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Seminar 5: Times, Omens, Prophecies and Prophets
Summary
Over the last few weeks we have discussed the way in which the inhabitants of early
modern Europe sought to influence the world around them through rites and rituals,
and looked at some of the communal festivities and activities in which they
participated. We have considered the extent to which religion and magic acted as a
means of making contact with the world of the supernatural, and thought about the
way in which participation in certain rites and rituals helped to create a daily order, a
community order, and perhaps even a cosmic order. It is clear that control over the
supernatural, or at least access to it, was a vital concern for many of the population.
But what about the occasions on which the supernatural appeared to enter the
materials world uninvited? How were these manifestations of the sacred in time and
space understood and interpreted, and why were certain meanings attributed to these
events? The early modern world, writes Peter Maxwell Stuart, was one of ‗signs and
portents, sent by God….or by the devil….. some natural, some portentous, some