Religion and the Decline of Magic
Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England
by Keith Thomas · first published 1971
100% recommend
Witchcraft, astrology, divination and every kind of popular magic flourished in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from the belief that a blessed amulet could prevent the assaults of the Devil to the use of the same charms to recover stolen goods. At the same time the Protestant Reformation attempted to take the magic out of religion, and scientists were developing new explanations of the universe. Keith Thomas's classic analysis of beliefs held on every level of English society begins with the collapse of the medieval Church and ends with the changing intellectual atmosph
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Relatedly - anyone interested in this topic should check out Keith Thomas's Religion and the Decline of Magic (1971), hands down one of my favorite history books ever. Here's a recent essay about it by the novelist Hilary Mantel: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2012/06/07/magic-keith-thoma...
on “Magic and the rise of science” ↗Coincidentally, I've just finished Thomas' Religion and the Decline of Magic. It's very long and massively overexampled, but still a good and eye-opening read. When it came out in 1971 it cost an extortionate £7; one national newspaper had an editorial saying people might be…
on “Deals with the devil aren't what they used to be” ↗