A History Of Witchcraft by Jeffrey Burton Russell
Sorcerers, Heretics and Pagans
A sweeping, scholarly account that traces how beliefs about witchcraft developed from antiquity through the early modern period, examining pagan roots, Christian theology, legal practices, and popular folklore to explain why accusations and persecutions arose. It analyzes the cultural, social, and political forces—clerical doctrine, demonology, gender anxieties, and legal institutions—that transformed isolated accusations into large-scale witch hunts in the 15th–17th centuries, and it assesses the decline of witch trials with the rise of skepticism and Enlightenment thinking. Throughout, the work separates myth from documented practice, critiques sensationalized narratives, and situates the phenomenon in the broader history of belief and power.
- Published
- Unknown
- Nationality
- American
- Length
- Unknown
- Pages
- Unknown
- Original Language
- English
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