Witchcraft has always intrigued the imagination, sparking visions of Macbeths hags, complete with heathland and bubbling cauldrons. But throughout European history, particularly from the 14th- to the 17th-century, ordinary people were tried and put to death for witchcraft, often in a brutal and grotesque manner. So who were the witches? What were their practises? Who believed in them? What was their place in society? Why were they so feared? How were they accused, tried and executed? Robin Briggs attempts to answer these questions, broadening his scope as he looks beyond the persecutions themselves, to concentrate upon the society they illuminate. Between 1560 and 1660, more people were tried for witchcraft than at any other time in history. The detailed records of many of the trials have allowed the author to build up a description of life among the European peasantry some 400 years ago: the minutiae of social life, daily activities, neighbourhood and kinship ties, the pervasive force of superstition and family relationships.

Witches & neighbours: The social and cultural context of European witchcraft

History

Briggs, Robin

Europe

HarperCollinsPublishers

Draws on recent research to discover the social and cultural context that bred the persecution of witches in Europe, examining who the witches were, what they practiced, and why they were feared

Witches and Neighbors: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft

Penguin??Books

Early modern France 1560-1715

Oxford University Press

xi 242p paperback, a bright copy, like new, signed by the author

Early Modern France, 1560-1715

Incorporating new material drawn from recent scholarship, this Second Edition offers a more complete picture of this crucial period. It also has a thoroughly updated and expanded bibliography.

Early Modern France 1560-1715 (OPUS)

Communities of Belief: Cultural and Social Tension in Early Modern France

This book is about attitudes and behavior in early modern France, dealing particularly with the conflicts related to social and intellectual changes, and with the tensions between the elite and the common people. Topics discussed include witchcraft, popular belief and superstition, confession, the family, Church and State, and popular revolt. Briggs combines the methods of social history and of "histoire de mentalités" to produce an in-depth analysis of the changes and tensions which mark this period as one of vital development in all these areas. The book offers a lively critique of some current interpretations of seventeenth-century France, which have been the subject of much recent controversy.

Clarendon Press

This book is about attitudes and behavior in early modern France, dealing particularly with the conflicts related to social and intellectual changes, and with the tensions between the elite and the common people. Topics discussed include witchcraft, popular belief and superstition, confession, the family, Church and State, and popular revolt. Briggs combines the methods of social history and of "histoire de mentalités" to produce an in-depth analysis of the changes and tensions which mark this period as one of vital development in all these areas. The book offers a lively critique of some current interpretations of seventeenth-century France, which have been the subject of much recent controversy.

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Based on perhaps the richest surviving archive of witchcraft trials to be found in Europe, The Witches of Lorraine reveals the extraordinary stories held within those documents. They paint a vivid picture of life amongst the ordinary people of a small duchy on the borders of France and the Holy Roman Empire, and allow a very close analysis of the beliefs, social tensions, and behavior patterns underlying popular attitudes to witchcraft. Intense persecution occurred in the period 1570-1630, but the focus of this book is more on how suspects interacted with their neighbors over the years preceding their trials. One of the mysteries is why people were so slow to use the law to eliminate these supposedly vicious and dangerous figures. Perhaps the most striking and unexpected conclusion is that witchcraft was actually perceived as having strong therapeutic possibilities; once a person was identified as the cause of a sickness, they could be induced to take it off again. Other aspects studied include the more fantastic beliefs in sabbats, shapeshifting, and werewolves, the role of the devins or cunning-folk, and the characteristics attributed to the significant proportion of male witches. This regional study makes a vital contribution to historical understanding of one of the most dramatic phenomena in early modern Europe, and to witchcraft studies as a whole, as well as illuminating related topics in social and religious history.

The Witches of Lorraine

Africa

The scientific revolution of the seventeenth century (Seminar studies in history)

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

Longmans

Witches and Neighbours is a highly original and unconventional analysis of a fascinating historical phenomenon. Unlike other studies of the subject which focus on the mechanisms of persecution, this book presents a rich picture of witchcraft as an all-pervasive aspect of life in early modern Europe. This book is not available from Blackwell in the United States and the Philippines. <ul> <li>A fascinating and accessible account of the central role of witchcraft in early modern Europe. 
</li> <li>A standard work on the subject of witchcraft now available in a revised edition with an updated bibliography. 
</li> <li>Presents an unconventional interpretation of the role and influence of witchcraft 
</li> <li>Argues that witchcraft was as complex and changing as the society of which it formed a vital part. 
</li> <li>Draws on a range of original sources to vividly illustrate the arguments.</li> </ul>

Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft

Wiley/Blackwell

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Briggs, Robin. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Briggs, Robin

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Briggs, Robin. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Witches & neighbours: The social and cultural context of European witchcraft

Witches and Neighbors: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft

Early modern France 1560-1715

Early Modern France, 1560-1715

Early Modern France 1560-1715 (OPUS)

Communities of Belief: Cultural and Social Tension in Early Modern France

Communities of Belief: Cultural and Social Tension in Early Modern France

The Witches of Lorraine

The scientific revolution of the seventeenth century (Seminar studies in history)

Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft