| Edition |
Third edition. |
| Description |
xiv, 289 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 22 cm |
|
Gender group: gdr Men lcdgt |
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Nationality/regional group: nat Americans lcdgt |
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Occupational/field of activity group: occ University and college faculty members lcdgt |
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Social group: soc Retirees lcdgt |
| Note |
Previous edition: 2014. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Summary |
"This book will approach magic as a kind of crossroads where different pathways in medieval culture converge. First of all it is a point of intersection between religion and science. Demonic magic invokes evil spirits and rests upon a network of religious beliefs and practices, while natural magic exploits "occult" powers within nature and is essentially a branch of medieval science. Yet demonic and natural magic are not always as distinct in fact as they seem in principle. Even when magic is clearly nondemonic it sometimes mingles elements of religion and science: a magical cure, for example, may embody both herbal lore from folk medicine and phrases of prayer from Christian ritual. Secondly, magic is an area where popular culture meets with learned culture. Popular notions of magic got taken up and interpreted by "intellectuals" - a term here used for those with philosophical or theological education - and their ideas about magic, demons, and kindred topics were in turn spread throughout the land by preachers. One of the most important tasks in cultural history is working out these lines of transmission. Thirdly, magic represents a particularly interesting crossroads between fiction and reality. The fictional literature of medieval Europe sometimes reflected the realities of medieval life, sometimes distorted them, sometimes provided escapist release from them, and sometimes held up ideals for reality to imitate. When this literature featured sorcerers, fairies, and other workers of magic, it may not have been meant or taken as totally realistic. Even so, the magic of medieval literature did resemble the magical practices of medieval life in ways that are difficult but interesting to disentangle"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Subject |
Magic -- Europe -- History.
|
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HISTORY / Europe / General.
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Magic. (OCoLC)fst01005468
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Europe. (OCoLC)fst01245064
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| Genre/Form |
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
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| Other Form: |
ebook version : 9781108859721 |
| ISBN |
9781108494717 hardback |
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1108494714 hardback |
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9781108796897 paperback |
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1108796893 paperback |
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9781108859721 (PDF ebook) |
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9781108849340 (PDF ebook) |
|
