Languages of Witchcraft: Narrative, Ideology and Meaning in Early Modern Culture

248 Pages·2001·187.12 MB·

by  Stuart Clark (eds.)

LANGUAGES OF WITCHCRAFT
filustration taken from the title page of HenningG rose: Magica de Spectrlll
et Apparltionlbus Splrltuum ... , published 1Qi6, British LibraryShelfmark.
231.k..34. Reproduced by permission of The British Library.
LANGUAGES OF
WITCHCRAFT
Narrative, Ideology and Meaning in
Early Modern Culture
Edited by
Stuart Clark
First published in Great Britain 2001 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-333-79348-0 hardcover
ISBN 978-0-333-79349-7 paperback
First published in the United States of America 2001 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, LLC,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-333-79348-0 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0-333-79349-7 (paper)
ISBN 978-0-333-79349-7 ISBN 978-0-333-98529-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.10071978-0-333-98529-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Languages of witchcraft: narrative, ideology & meaning in early modern culture / edited by
Stuart Clark.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-333-79348-0 -ISBN 978-0-333-79349-7 (pbk)
1. Witchcraft-Europe-Histmy-16thcentury-Congresses. 2. Witchcraft-Europe-Histmy-17th
century-Congresses. 3. Witchcraft-Europe-History-18th century-Congresses. I. Oark. Stuart.
BF1584.F.85 136 2000
133.4'3-dc21 00-033302
Selection, introduction and editorial matter e Stuart Clark, Chapter 1 e Peter Rushton, Ota.pter 2 e
Marion Gibson, Chapter 3 ©Malcolm Gaskill, Chapter 4 ©Diane Purkiss, Chapter 5 © Peter Elmer,
Chapter 6 e David Wootton, Chapter 7 e Jonathan Barry, Chapter 8 e Robin Briggs, Chapter 9 e
Marfa Tausiet, Chapter 10 Cl Thomas Robisheaux,. Chapter 11 ©Katharine Hodgkin 2001
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Copy edited and typeset in Book Antiqua by Password, Norwich, UK.
In memory of
Gareth Roberts
Contents
England xi
Notes on Contributors xi
Introduction
Stuart Clark 1
Part 1 History and Story in Witchcraft Trials 19
1 Texts of Authority: Witchcraft Accusations and the
Demonstration of Truth in Early Modern England 21
Peter Rushton
2 Understanding Witchcraft? Accusers' Stories in Print in Early
Modern England 41
Marion Gibson
3 Witches and Witnesses in Old and New England 55
Malcolm Gaskill
4 Sounds of Silence: Fairies and Incest in Scottish Witchcraft
Stories 81
Diane Purkiss
Part 2 Contexts of Witchcraft 99
5 Towards a Politics of Witchcraft in Early Modern England 101
Peter Elmer
vii
viii Contents
6 Reginald Scot/ Abraham Fleming/ The Family of Love 119
David Wootton
7 Hell upon Earth or the Language of the Playhouse 139
Jonathan Barry
Part 3 How Contemporaries Read Witchcraft 159
8 Circling the Devil: Witch-Doctors and Magical Healers in
Early Modern Lorraine 161
Robin Briggs
9 Witchcraft as Metaphor: Infanticide and its Translations
in Arag6n in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries 179
Maria Tausiet
10 Witchcraft and Forensic Medicine in Seventeenth-Century
Germany 197
Thomas Robisheaux
11 Reasoning with Unreason: Visions, Witchcraft, and Madness
in Early Modern England 217
Katharine Hodgkin
Index 237
Preface
In September 1998 the History Department of the University of Wales,
Swansea, held a conference devoted to recent trends in witchcraft re
search and to the issues raised by the concept of 'reading witchcraft',
both as a style of interpretation and as an aspect of the subject itself.
The conference focused largely on witchcraft in Europe between the
sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, and it brought together the great
majority of the scholars currently working on this subject in Britain
and some of the most important overseas experts. This volume con
sists of essays arising from papers delivered at the conference, grouped
according to the three themes that dominated our discussions. My
thanks go to all those who participated in the original meeting, which
lived up to the reputation that witchcraft studies have justifiably gained
for promoting originality, liveliness, and good humour. My task as
editor was also eased considerably by the speed and efficiency with
which the authors of the papers turned them into publishable essays.
For financial assistance towards the costs of the conference, we are all
grateful to the following: the British Academy, the Royal Historical
Society, the Society for Renaissance Studies, and the History Depart
ment at Swansea.
Through a sad irony, Gareth Roberts was due to give a paper on
demonology and The Comedy of Errors at the conference, but a family
illness intervened. His sudden death in February 1999 shocked and
bewildered us all, and deprived witchcraft research and Renaissance
studies generally of one of their most subtle exponents. Fortunately,
his work on witchcraft in early modern Scotland, in collaboration with
Lawrence Normand, was virtually complete and will soon be pub
lished. Gareth was universally admired and respected as a scholar and
ix
x Preface
teacher and cherished as a friend. He was a person of great humanity
and generosity, with an expansive Welshness that endeared him to
everyone. We dedicate this volume to him in affectionate memory of
the man and in acknowledgement of his many achievements.
Chapel Hill, NC
November 1999