Title Cunning folk and familiar spirits : shamanistic visionary traditions in early modern British witchcraft and magic / Emma Wilby.

Publication Info.

Brighton [England] ; Portland, Or. : Sussex Academic Press, 2005.

Connect to
Connect to http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip058/2005005582.html

Copies

Location	Call No.	Status
University of Saint Joseph: Pope Pius XII Library - Standard Shelving Location	133.43 W666C	Check Shelf

Description	xvi, 317 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Bibliography	Includes bibliographical references (pages 294-302) and index.
Contents	A harsh and enchanted world -- Cunning folk and witches -- The magical use of spirits -- Human and spirit : the meeting -- The working relationship -- Renunciation and pact -- Demon and fairy : the interface -- The shaman's calling -- Spirit worlds and high gods -- Phantasticks and phantasms -- Psychosis or spirituality? -- The unrecognised mystics -- Greedigut and the Angel Gabriel -- The freedom of magic.
Summary	"This book examines the folkloric roots of familiar lore in early modern Britain from historical, anthropological and comparative religious perspectives. It argues that beliefs about witches' families were rooted in beliefs surrounding the use of fairy familiars by beneficent magical practitioners or 'cunning folk', and corroborates this through a comparative analysis of familiar beliefs found in traditional Native American and Siberian shamanism. The author then explores the experiential dimension of familiar lore, drawing parallels between early modern familiar encounters and visionary mysticism as it appears in both tribal shamanism and medieval European contemplative traditions. The conclusions drawn challenge the reductionist view of popular magic in early modern Britain often presented by historians."--BOOK JACKET.
Subject	Witchcraft -- Great Britain -- History -- 16th century.
	Witchcraft -- Great Britain -- History -- 17th century.
	Magic -- Great Britain -- History -- 16th century.
	Magic -- Great Britain -- History -- 17th century.
	Medicine -- History -- 17th century.
	Witchcraft -- history. (DNLM)D018599Q000266
	Magic -- history. (DNLM)D008273Q000266
	History, 16th Century. (DNLM)D049669
	History, 17th Century. (DNLM)D049670
	United Kingdom. (DNLM)D006113
	Great Britain.
	Medicine. (OCoLC)fst01014893
	Magic. (OCoLC)fst01005468
	Witchcraft. (OCoLC)fst01176327
	Great Britain. (OCoLC)fst01204623
	Volksglaube. (DE-588)4063834-0
	Magie. (DE-588)4036966-3
	Schamanismus. (DE-588)4052062-6
	England. (DE-588)4014770-8
	Häxeri.
	Magi.
Chronological Term	1500-1699
	1500-talet
	1600-talet
	Geschichte 1500-1700
Genre/Form	History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
Other Form:	Online version: Wilby, Emma. Cunning folk and familiar spirits. Brighton [England] ; Portland, Or. : Sussex Academic Press, 2005 (OCoLC)607849672
ISBN	1845190785 (hardcover ; alkaline paper)
	9781845190781 (hardcover ; alkaline paper)
	1845190793 (paperback ; alkaline paper)
	9781845190798 (paperback ; alkaline paper)

-->

Permanent Link

Add a Review

Title Cunning folk and familiar spirits : shamanistic visionary traditions in early modern British witchcraft and magic / Emma Wilby.

Copies

Library Links

Search Tools

Language Settings