Magic and Superstition in Europe

The only comprehensive, single-volume survey of magic available, this compelling book traces the history of magic and superstition in Europe from antiquity to the present. Focusing mainly on the medieval and early modern era, Michael Bailey also explores the ancient Near East, classical Greece and Rome, and the spread of magical systems_particularly modern witchcraft or Wicca_from Europe to the United States. He explains how magic was understood, constructed, and frequently condemned and how magical beliefs and practices have changed over time yet also remain vital even today.

The only comprehensive, single-volume survey of magic available, this compelling book traces the history of magic, witchcraft, and superstitious practices such as popular spells or charms from antiquity to the present day. Focusing especially on Europe in the medieval and early modern eras, Michael Bailey also explores the ancient Near East, classical Greece and Rome, and the spread of magical systems_particularly modern witchcraft or Wicca_from Europe to the United States. He examines how magic and superstition have been defined in various historical eras and how these constructions have changed over time. He considers the ways in which specific categories of magic have been condemned, and how those identified as magicians or witches have been persecuted and prosecuted in various societies. Although conceptions of magic have changed over time, the author shows how magic has almost always served as a boundary marker separating socially acceptable actions from illicit ones, and more generally the known and understood from the unknown and occult.

Chapter 1 Introduction: Roots in the Ancient World
Chapter 2 The Rise of Christianity and Early Medieval Europe to the Year 1000
Chapter 3 Varieties of Magic in the High and Late Middle Ages, 1000-1500
Chapter 4 The Medieval Condemnation of Magic, 1000-1500
Chapter 5 Witchcraft and Witch-Hunting in the Early Modern Period, 1500-1800
Chapter 6 From Renaissance to Enlightenment, 1450-1800
Chapter 7 Magic in the Modern West from 1800