Representing Magic in Modern Ireland

Representing Magic in Modern Ireland
Author: Andrew Sneddon
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2022-05-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1108957501

This Element argues that Ireland did not experience a disenchanted modernity, nor a decline in magic. It suggests that beliefs, practices and traditions concerning witchcraft and magic developed and adapted to modernity to retain cultural currency until the end of the twentieth century. This analysis provides the backdrop for the first systematic exploration of how historic Irish trials of witches and cunning-folk were represented by historians, antiquarians, journalists, dramatists, poets, and novelists in Ireland between the late eighteenth and late twentieth century. It is demonstrated that this work created an accepted narrative of Irish witchcraft and magic which glossed over, ignored, or obscured the depth of belief in witchcraft, both in the past and in contemporary society. Collectively, their work gendered Irish witchcraft, created a myth of a disenchanted, modern Ireland, and reinforced competing views of Irishness and Irish identity. These long-held stereotypes were only challenged in the late twentieth-century.

The Oxford Handbook of Religion in Modern Ireland

The Oxford Handbook of Religion in Modern Ireland
Author: Gladys Ganiel
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 625
Release: 2024-01-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0198868693

This volume offers a range of sociological, political, and historical perspectives on religion in Ireland from 1800 to the present. Going beyond the usual Catholicism-Protestantism dichotomy and adopting an all-island approach, the book's contributors address religion's interaction with several contemporary themes and debates in modern Ireland.

Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe

Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe
Author: Jonathan Barry
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 392
Release: 1998-03-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521638753

This important collection brings together both established figures and new researchers to offer fresh perspectives on the ever-controversial subject of the history of witchcraft. Using Keith Thomas's Religion and the Decline of Magic as a starting point, the contributors explore the changes of the last twenty-five years in the understanding of early modern witchcraft, and suggest new approaches, especially concerning the cultural dimensions of the subject. Witchcraft cases must be understood as power struggles, over gender and ideology as well as social relationships, with a crucial role played by alternative representations. Witchcraft was always a contested idea, never fully established in early modern culture but much harder to dislodge than has usually been assumed. The essays are European in scope, with examples from Germany, France, and the Spanish expansion into the New World, as well as a strong core of English material.

Magic and Witchery in the Modern West

Magic and Witchery in the Modern West
Author: Shai Feraro
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2019-06-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 3030155498

This book marks twenty years since the publication of Professor Ronald Hutton’s The Triumph of the Moon, a major contribution to the historical study of Wicca. Building on and celebrating Hutton’s pioneering work, the chapters in this volume explore a range of modern magical, occult, and Pagan groups active in Western nations. Each contributor is a specialist in the study of modern Paganism and occultism, although differ in their embrace of historical, anthropological, and psychological perspectives. Chapters examine not only the history of Wicca, the largest and best-known form of modern Paganism, but also modern Pagan environmentalist and anti-nuclear activism, the Pagan interpretation of fairy folklore, and the contemporary ‘Traditional Witchcraft’ phenomenon.

Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Enlightenment

Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Enlightenment
Author: Michael R. Lynn
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2022-03-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000557456

Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Enlightenment argues for the centrality of magical practices and ideas throughout the long eighteenth century. Although the hunt for witches in Europe declined precipitously after 1650, and the intellectual justification for natural magic came under fire by 1700, belief in magic among the general population did not come to a sudden stop. The philosophes continued to take aim at magical practices, alongside religion, as examples of superstitions that an enlightened age needed to put behind them. In addition to a continuity of beliefs and practices, the eighteenth century also saw improvement and innovation in magical ideas, the understanding of ghosts, and attitudes toward witchcraft. The volume takes a broad geographical approach and includes essays focusing on Great Britain (England and Ireland), France, Germany, and Hungary. It also takes a wide approach to the subject and includes essays on astrology, alchemy, witchcraft, cunning folk, ghosts, treasure hunters, and purveyors of magic. With a broad chronological scope that ranges from the end of the seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century, this volume is useful for undergraduates, postgraduates, scholars, and those with a general interest in magic, witchcraft, and spirits in the Enlightenment.

The Cambridge History of Magic and Witchcraft in the West

The Cambridge History of Magic and Witchcraft in the West
Author: David J. Collins, S. J.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 897
Release: 2015-03-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1316239497

This book presents twenty chapters by experts in their fields, providing a thorough and interdisciplinary overview of the theory and practice of magic in the West. Its chronological scope extends from the Ancient Near East to twenty-first-century North America; its objects of analysis range from Persian curse tablets to US neo-paganism. For comparative purposes, the volume includes chapters on developments in the Jewish and Muslim worlds, evaluated not simply for what they contributed at various points to European notions of magic, but also as models of alternative development in ancient Mediterranean legacy. Similarly, the volume highlights the transformative and challenging encounters of Europeans with non-Europeans, regarding the practice of magic in both early modern colonization and more recent decolonization.

Witchcraft, Sorcery, Rumors and Gossip

Witchcraft, Sorcery, Rumors and Gossip
Author: Pamela J. Stewart
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2004
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9780521004732

This book combines two classic topics in social anthropology in a new synthesis: the study of witchcraft and sorcery and the study of rumors and gossip. First, it shows how rumor and gossip are invariably important as catalysts for accusations of witchcraft and sorcery. Second, it demonstrates the role of rumor and gossip in the genesis of social and political violence, as in the case of both peasant rebellions and witch-hunts. Examples supporting the argument are drawn from Africa, Europe, India, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.

Amulets in Magical Practice

Amulets in Magical Practice
Author: Jay Johnston
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2024-04-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1108956769

This Element takes as its remit the production and use of amulets. The focus will be on amulets with no, or minimal, textual content like those comprising found stone, semi-precious gem and/or animal body parts. That is a material form that is unaccompanied by directive textual inscription. The analysis considers this materiality to understand its context of use including ritual and metaphysical operations. Through discussion of selected case studies from British, Celtic, and Scandinavian cultures, it demonstrates the associative range of meaning that enabled the attribution of power/agency to the amuletic object Uniquely, it will consider this material culture from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing together insights from the disciplines of cultural studies, religious studies, 'folk' studies, archaeology and Scandinavian studies. It develops the concept of 'trans-aniconism' to encapsulates an amulet's temporal relations and develops the proposition of 'landscape amulets.'

Creative Histories of Witchcraft

Creative Histories of Witchcraft
Author: Poppy Corbett
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2022-06-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1009221078

How can researchers study magic without destroying its mystery? Drawing on a collaborative project between the playwright Poppy Corbett, the poet Anna Kisby Compton, and the historian William G. Pooley, this Element presents thirteen tools for creative-academic research into magic, illustrated through case studies from France (1790–1940) and examples from creative outputs: write to discover; borrow forms; use the whole page; play with footnotes; erase the sources; write short; accumulate fragments; re-enact; improvise; use dialogue; change perspective; make methods of metaphors; use props. These tools are ways to 'untell' the dominant narratives that shape stereotypes of the 'witch' which frame belief in witchcraft as ignorant and outdated. Writing differently suggests ways to think and feel differently, to stay with the magic, rather than explaining it away. The Element includes practical creative exercises to try as well as research materials from French newspaper and trial sources from the period.