Superstitions are commonplace in the modern world. Mostly, however, they evoke innocuous images of people reading their horoscopes or avoiding black cats. Certain religious practices might also come to mind—praying to St. Christopher or lighting candles for the dead. Benign as they might seem today, such practices were not always perceived that way. In medieval Europe superstitions were considered serious offenses, violations of essential precepts of Christian doctrine or immutable natural laws. But how and why did this come to be? In Fearful Spirits, Reasoned Follies, Michael D. Bailey explores the thorny concept of superstition as it was understood and debated in the Middle Ages.
Bailey begins by tracing Christian thinking about superstition from the patristic period through the early and high Middle Ages. He then turns to the later Middle Ages, a period that witnessed an outpouring of writings devoted to superstition—tracts and treatises with titles such as De superstitionibus and Contra vitia superstitionum. Most were written by theologians and other academics based in Europe’s universities and courts, men who were increasingly anxious about the proliferation of suspect beliefs and practices, from elite ritual magic to common healing charms, from astrological divination to the observance of signs and omens. As Bailey shows, however, authorities were far more sophisticated in their reasoning than one might suspect, using accusations of superstition in a calculated way to control the boundaries of legitimate religion and acceptable science. This in turn would lay the conceptual groundwork for future discussions of religion, science, and magic in the early modern world. Indeed, by revealing the extent to which early modern thinkers took up old questions about the operation of natural properties and forces using the vocabulary of science rather than of belief, Bailey exposes the powerful but in many ways false dichotomy between the "superstitious" Middle Ages and "rational" European modernity.
Автор: Vyse Stuart Название: Superstition: A Very Short Introduction ISBN: 0198819250 ISBN-13(EAN): 9780198819257 Издательство: Oxford Academ Рейтинг: Цена: 1582.00 р. Наличие на складе: Есть у поставщика Поставка под заказ.
Описание: Do you touch wood for luck, or avoid the number 13? Despite the dominance of science in today`s world, superstitious beliefs - both traditional and new - remain surprisingly popular. From black cats to lucky pennies, Stuart Vyse explores the history of our deepest superstitions, and the psychological reasons behind why they persist today.
Описание: This volume investigates the physical evidence for magic in medieval and modern Britain, including ritual mark, concealed objects, amulets, and magical equipment.
Автор: Crawford, J. R. Название: Witchcraft and Sorcery in Rhodesia ISBN: 113854227X ISBN-13(EAN): 9781138542273 Издательство: Taylor&Francis Рейтинг: Цена: 5205.00 р. Наличие на складе: Есть у поставщика Поставка под заказ.
Описание: Originally published in 1967, this book is a study of witchcraft and sorcery among the Shona, Ndebele and Kalanga peoples of Zimbabwe. It analyses in their social context verbatim evidence and confessions from a comprehensive series of judicial records.
Автор: Harwood, Alan Название: Witchcraft, Sorcery and Social Categories Among the Safwa ISBN: 1138594202 ISBN-13(EAN): 9781138594203 Издательство: Taylor&Francis Рейтинг: Цена: 5205.00 р. Наличие на складе: Есть у поставщика Поставка под заказ.
Описание: Originally published in 1970, this book explores the role of concepts of disease in the social life of the Safwa of Tanzania, particularly through beliefs concerning witchcraft and sorcery.
Описание: This volume investigates the physical evidence for magic in medieval and modern Britain, including ritual mark, concealed objects, amulets, and magical equipment.
Описание: The Book of Black Magic is Arthur Edward Waite's magnum opus of occult lore; this edition contains the author's original icons, symbols, seals and drawings. This supreme guide to occultist history, lore, magick, and ceremony is split into two parts: The first is entitled ""The Literature of Ceremonial Magic"". Here, Waite examines the ritualistic traditions which surrounding the occult movement for centuries. He notes various texts, and how these had a bearing upon the practice of the occult and of magical ceremony. The second part, ""The Complete Grimoire"", concerns how those who practice black magic and occult ritual become versed in the craft. The stringent physical and mental requirements, and the need to practice a spiritual attunement and inner ablution, is detailed. Astronomical knowledge of the planets and their movements is a necessity, as is possession of a variety of instruments, plus a deep knowledge of the various symbols and scripts used in occultism.
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