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OverviewOpens a fascinating new window onto medieval and early modern life - a world where it's possible to meet the devil on the road, control the future through stars, and employ a fairy to help find gold In Cunning Folk- Life in the Era of Practical Magic, historian Tabitha Stanmore will transport readers to a time when magic was used day-to-day as a way to navigate life's challenges and to solve problems of both trivial and deadly importance. Imagine- it's 1600 and you've lost your precious silver spoons - or perhaps your neighbour has stolen them. Or maybe your child has a fever. Or you're facing trial. Or you're looking for love. Or you're hoping to escape a husband ... What do you do? In medieval and early modern Europe, your first port of call might very well have been cunning folk- practitioners of 'service magic'. Neither feared (like witches), nor venerated (like saints), they were essential to everyday life, a ubiquitous presence in a time when the supernatural was surprisingly mundane. For people from all walks of life, practical magic was a cherished resource with which to navigate life's many challenges. In Tabitha Stanmore's beguiling account, we meet lovelorn widows and dissolute nobles, selfless healers and renegade monks. We listen in on Queen Elizabeth I's astrology readings and track treasure hunters trying to unearth buried gold without upsetting the fairies that guard it. Much like us, premodern people lived in bewildering times, buffeted by forces beyond their control; and as Stanmore reveals, their faith in magic has much to teach us about how we accommodate ourselves to the irrational in our allegedly enlightened lives today. Told with warmth, wit and above all, empathy, these stories take us deep into people's day-to-day lives- their hopes and desires, their fears and vulnerabilities. Charming in every sense of the word, Cunning Folk is an immersive reconstruction of a bygone world and a thought-provoking commentary on the beauty and bafflement of being human. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Tabitha StanmorePublisher: Vintage Publishing Imprint: The Bodley Head Ltd Dimensions: Width: 15.30cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 23.40cm Weight: 0.358kg ISBN: 9781847927323ISBN 10: 1847927327 Pages: 288 Publication Date: 02 May 2024 Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General , Tertiary & Higher Education Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Not yet available  This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release. Table of ContentsReviewsAbsolutely fascinating. Cunning Folk is a much-needed book that draws attention to a little-known but important aspect of daily life. Like all good history books, it tells us about ourselves as well as the past. It will both inform and inspire readers * Ian Mortimer, author of Medieval Horizons * The best introduction to late medieval and early modern popular magic yet written ... Comprehensive, humane, lively, and a great read * Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch * A fascinating and intricately researched book that opens a window into another world * Tracy Borman, author of Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I * This isn't just a book: it's a window on the hopes, passions and lives of Europe five centuries ago. We know the horror film version of magic. Tabitha Stanmore - uncovering a whole treasure house of long-lost private lives - adds the rich, fresh, human version * Michael Pye, author of The Edge of the World * I adore Cunning Folk. A truly fascinating and human book * Ruth Goodman, author of The Domestic Revolution * The best introduction to late medieval and early modern popular magic yet written ... Comprehensive, humane, lively, and a great read * Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch * A fascinating and intricately researched book that opens a window into another world * Tracy Borman, author of Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I * Absolutely fascinating. Cunning Folk is a much-needed book that draws attention to a little-known but important aspect of daily life. Like all good history books, it tells us about ourselves as well as the past. It will both inform and inspire readers * Ian Mortimer, author of Medieval Horizons * This isn't just a book; it's a window on the hopes and passions and lives of Europe five centuries ago. We know the horror film version of magic - sinister friars, severed heads, murder dolls and rings with strange powers. Tabitha Stanmore adds the rich, human version, the reasons that made people seek out magic in the first place. Her fresh and fascinating account introduces the scammers and heroines who used practical magic to win back lovers, kingdoms, even lost cutlery. More remarkably, we hear the stories of the women and men who needed their help, a whole treasure house of long lost private lives * Michael Pye, author of The Edge of the World * I adore Cunning Folk. A truly fascinating and human book. * Ruth Goodman, author of The Domestic Revolution * The best introduction to late medieval and early modern popular magic yet written ... Comprehensive, humane, lively, and a great read * Prof. Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch * Author InformationTabitha Stanmore is a social historian of magic and witchcraft at the University of Exeter. She is part of the Leverhulme-funded Seven County Witch-Hunt Project, and her doctoral thesis was published as Love Spells and Lost Treasure- Service Magic in England from the Later Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period. She has featured on Radio 3's Free Thinking and BBC 4's Plague Fiction, and her writing has been published in the Conversation. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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