Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England
Astrology, witchcraft, magical healing, divination, ancient prophecies, ghosts, and fairies were taken very seriously by people at all social and economic levels in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. Helplessness in the face of disease and human disaster helped to perpetuate this belief in magic and the supernatural. As Keith Thomas shows, England during these years resembled in many ways today's "underdeveloped areas." The English population was exceedingly liable to pain, sickness, and premature death; many were illiterate; epidemics such as the bubonic plague plowed through English towns, at times cutting the number of London's inhabitants by a sixth; fire was a constant threat; the food supply was precarious; and for most diseases there was no effective medical remedy.In this fascinating and detailed book, Keith Thomas shows how magic, like the medieval Church, offered an explanation for misfortune and a means of redress in times of adversity. The supernatural thus had its own practical utility in daily life. Some forms of magic were challenged by the Protestant Reformation, but only with the increased search for scientific explanation of the universe did the English people begin to abandon their recourse to the supernatural.Science and technology have made us less vulnerable to some of the hazards which confronted the people of the past. Yet Religion and the Decline of Magic concludes that "if magic is defined as the employment of ineffective techniques to allay anxiety when effective ones are not available, thenwe must recognize that no society will ever be free from it."
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Ediciones
Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England
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Jan 1, 2003
Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England
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May 15, 1984
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Jan 1, 1997
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Religion and the Decline of Magic
Jan 1, 1978
Religion and the Decline of Magic
853 págs.
Religion and the decline of magic: Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and seventeenth century England
Jan 1, 1971
Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century England
Religion and the Decline of Magic Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century England by Thomas, Keith ( Author ) ON Dec-12-1991, Paperback
Jan 1, 1991
Religion & the Decline of Magic
Jan 1, 1971
By Keith Thomas - Religion and the Decline of Magic (1986-04-16) [Paperback]
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Jan 1, 1971
Religion And the Decline of Magic
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Apr 30, 2012
Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England
992 págs.
Jan 1, 2012
Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century England
Jan 1, 2012
Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century England
Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth-and Seventeenth-Century England
992 págs.
Jan 1, 2012
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Religion & the Decline of Magic
716 págs.
Jan 1, 1971
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