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A review by booksaremyjam
A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics, and Pagans by Jeffrey Burton Russell
4.0
I am fascinated by the history of witchcraft. Not the torture, or the feminist subculture that came out of it, or the pop-culture translations. No, I am fascinated by the psychology behind it: what drove people to accuse other people of being witches, and what it actually meant to be "witch" over the centuries.
Luckily, Burton Russell has some thoughts on the subject.
Beginning with ancient civilizations in Africa, Burton Russell explores the idea of sorcerer, of healer, of medicine man, and how Christianity took these ideas and distorted them to create a cohesive Christian culture. He moves to continental Western Europe, and ultimately to Great Britain and the United States of America. As he unspools the height of the "witch-craze" (14th - 17th centuries), he provides glimpses into what drove such hatred and violence: the fear of the Other, the misogyny, and the unstable economic and political times. From there, he races toward the 18th - 20th centuries, the revival of interest in witchcraft, the creation of Wicca, and how the past and present speak to each other.
It's a fascinating book, and one I'll likely read again for all those bits I may have missed the first time around.
Luckily, Burton Russell has some thoughts on the subject.
Beginning with ancient civilizations in Africa, Burton Russell explores the idea of sorcerer, of healer, of medicine man, and how Christianity took these ideas and distorted them to create a cohesive Christian culture. He moves to continental Western Europe, and ultimately to Great Britain and the United States of America. As he unspools the height of the "witch-craze" (14th - 17th centuries), he provides glimpses into what drove such hatred and violence: the fear of the Other, the misogyny, and the unstable economic and political times. From there, he races toward the 18th - 20th centuries, the revival of interest in witchcraft, the creation of Wicca, and how the past and present speak to each other.
It's a fascinating book, and one I'll likely read again for all those bits I may have missed the first time around.