Description |
xxi, 679 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm. |
Series |
Penguin classics |
|
Penguin classics.
|
Note |
Originally published : 2015. |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 573-643) and index. |
Contents |
Study no abomination: The Hebrew Bible and apocrypha -- Power in the name of Jesus: the Greek New Testament -- Fire priests, magoi and mageia -- Drugs, charms and fair words: Greco-Roman antiquity -- The primal mage and sorcerer: late antiquity -- Armies of sorcery and flights of angels: early Christian Europe -- Arts of magic that astonish us: the Middle Ages -- Ancient wisdom and folly: the earlier Renaissance -- Ancient wisdom modernized: the later Renaissance -- Magic seen, heard and mocked -- Magic in an age of science. |
Summary |
As when iron is drawn to a magnet, camphor is sucked into hot air, crystal lights up in the Sun, sulphur and a volatile liquid are kindled by flame, an empty eggshell filled with dew is raised towards the Sun ... ' This rich, fascinating anthology of the western magical tradition stretches from its roots in the wizardry of the Old Testament and the rituals of the ancient world, through writers such as Thomas Aquinas, John Milton, John Dee and Matthew Hopkins, and up to the tangled, arcane beginnings of the scientific revolution. Arranged historically, with commentary, this book includes incantations, charms, curses, Golems, demons and witches, as well as astrology, divination and alchemy, with some ancient and medieval works which were once viewed as too dangerous even to open. Selected and translated with an introduction and notes by Brian Copenhaver." |
Subject |
Magic -- Western countries -- History.
|
|
Magic. (OCoLC)fst01005468
|
|
Western countries. (OCoLC)fst01302083
|
Genre/Form |
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
|
ISBN |
9780141393148 (paperback) |
|
0141393149 (paperback) |
|