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The cover of Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England

Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England

Keith Thomas

Why did intelligent people in early modern England believe in astrology, witchcraft and magical healing, and what did those beliefs do for them?

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At a glance

Author
Keith Thomas

Why read it

  • You will learn to explain beliefs that look foolish today by asking what use they served
  • You will see how people cope with misfortune when no one can explain it
  • You will think twice before dismissing past ages as simply gullible

Who it is for

  • A history reader curious how ordinary people explained bad luck
  • Someone who reads horoscopes and wonders why the habit endures
  • A student of religion comparing church and folk practice

Contents

  1. FOREWORD
  2. PROLOGUE
  3. THE ENVIRONMENT
  4. RELIGION
  5. THE MAGIC OF THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH
  6. THE IMPACT OF THE REFORMATION
  7. PROVIDENCE
  8. PRAYER AND PROPHECY
  9. RELIGION AND THE PEOPLE
  10. MAGIC
  11. MAGICAL HEALING
  12. CUNNING MEN AND POPULAR MAGIC
  13. MAGIC AND RELIGION
  14. ASTROLOGY
  15. ASTROLOGY: ITS PRACTICE AND EXTENT
  16. ASTROLOGY: ITS SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL ROLE
  17. ASTROLOGY AND RELIGION
  18. THE APPEAL TO THE PAST
  19. ANCIENT PROPHECIES
  20. WITCHCRAFT
  21. WITCHCRAFT IN ENGLAND: THE CRIME AND ITS HISTORY
  22. WITCHCRAFT AND RELIGION
  23. THE MAKING OF A WITCH
  24. WITCHCRAFT AND ITS SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
  25. WITCHCRAFT: DECLINE
  26. ALLIED BELIEFS
  27. GHOSTS AND FAIRIES
  28. TIMES AND OMENS
  29. CONCLUSION
  30. SOME INTERCONNECTIONS
  31. THE DECLINE OF MAGIC

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