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spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this, because I like books that make me feel like I'm stupid, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not prepared to slog through a slough of scholarly jargon.
earlgreybooks's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know how to rate this because I was using it for research for my novel. A lot of it wasn't relevant to what I needed, but I got some interesting notes from it.
fringthroughspace's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
This is an excellently written book covering a period and a topic rarely touched. As the author mentions at the outset, the Nordic region receives a great deal of attention during the Viking period, but the medieval era (as well as earlier eras not covered herein) is frequently neglected in all areas of history, and no survey of the social, cultural, and legal status of witchcraft and magic during the medieval has been conducted. While some academic authors writing in new fields don't trouble to make their writing enjoyable (why bother if it's the only book on the topic, I suppose is their justification), Mitchell has written a book which, while certainly dense, actually has some fairly spritely, even occasionally amusing, prose. Overall this was enjoyable dive into the construction of witchcraft and magic and the collision of native Nordic pre- and post-Christian conceptions with continental and doctrinal ideas about magical practices. I recommend for anyone interested in the topic of witchcraft generally or religion, magic and culture in the Nordic countries.
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