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

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32 Discussion Questions (1) What was regarded as ‗superstition‘ by the Catholic church and by the Protestant churches? Are there differences – and what are they? (2) Did post-reformation culture accommodate what Reformation leaders had themselves termed as superstition both in thought and in practice? Was any effort made to attempt to defend or rationalise continued ‗superstitious‘ beliefs and practices? For example, was any accommodation made with those practices that were termed as ‗superstitious‘ in order to blunt or soften the impact of religious change? (3) Were these developments more than just the survival of traditional ideas – were these practices actively promoted as part of a new religious culture? (4) The ever present spectre of the debate over what we mean when we talk about ‗popular‘ religion in the era of the Reformation. Whose religion are we referring to, and what makes it ‗popular‘? Is the religion and culture of the laity merely passively accepted, or distorted this to fit their needs, which were often material rather than spiritual?
33 Seminar One: The Malleus Maleficarum Spring Term Summary We shall be spending the first three sessions this term looking at witchcraft, attitudes to witchcraft, and the persecution of witches in early modern Europe. In the course of these three seminars, we will study the writings of the witch-hunters, the records of trials, and the expansion of belief in witchcraft and the witch-hunt spread across Europe. The first seminar of the term will be devoted to representations of witchcraft in the writings of the persecutors, inquisitors, and educated, with a particular focus on the Malleus Maleficarum or the ‗Hammer of Witches‘, which is perhaps the best known document of the witch-craze. Some extracts are provided, but you can read more in the University Library edition of the Malleus. or on the web (follow references from the course homepage) The book is often referred to in the records of the witch-trials in Germany, France, Italy, and England, and its influence was enduring — indeed the introduction to one modern edition states ‗this famous document should interest the historian, the student of witchcraft and the occult, and the psychologist who is interested in the medieval mind‘. Seminar Preparation Please read the primary source documents before the first class. We will spend some time looking at these in detail in class. Beforehand, please let me have a gobbet extract from these passages (choose your own section as a ‗question‘ for the rest of the class). You might also find it helpful to dip into the relevant section of reading list. Questions for Discussion (i) What was ‗witchcraft‘ in the early modern period? (ii) Why was it so feared — especially by the church? (iii) How did the learned stereotype of the witch develop? (iv) How do learned views of the witch compare with popular attitudes? (v) How far did the Malleus Malficarum shape attitudes to witchcraft? (vi) Has the influence of the Malleus been overexaggerated? Primary Sources for Class Discussion The Malleus Maleficarum (extracts) Guazzo: Compendium Maleficarum (extracts) Secondary Reading Anglo, S., The Damned Art : Essays in the Literature of Witchcraft (London, 1977). "Evident Authority and Authoritative Evidence: The Malleus Maleficarum." In his The Damned Art: Essays in the Literature of Witchcraft. (London, 1977). Baroja, J.C., "Witchcraft and Catholic Theology.", in B. Ankarloo, G. Henningsen, eds. Early Modern European Witchcraft: Centres and Peripheries (Oxford, 1989). Clark, S., Thinking with Demons. The idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe (Oxford, 1997).
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Page 11 and 12: 11 T.Heffernan, Sacred Biography: S
Page 13 and 14: 13 Secondary Reading Burke, P., Pop
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Page 39 and 40: 39 Seminar 4 : Magic I - Popular Be
Page 41 and 42: 41 Wear, ‗Religious Beliefs and M
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