Magic and its Hazards in the Late Medieval West

Richard Kieckhefer

doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199578160.013.0002

Magic and its Hazards in the Late Medieval West

Richard Kieckhefer

Religious Studies

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Abstract

This article examines the various forms of magic known in medieval Europe, focusing on those features that made it suspect and led to censure, prohibition, and prosecution. It suggests connections or disconnections between the prescriptive texts of the magicians themselves, the proscriptive texts of their opponents, and the descriptive literature (including judicial records) that claims to recount actual instances of magical activity. The article deals not simply with beliefs or with trials, but with the link between the two: the patterns of behaviour and perception that made it likely for magic to fall under suspicion and for the magician to be brought to trial.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America
Editors	Brian P Levack
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Pages	13-31
Number of pages	19
ISBN (Print)	9780199578160
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199578160.013.0002
State	Published - 2013

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10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199578160.013.0002

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