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Spells are conjured, herbs collected, and potions concocted in this fascinating history of the practices and beliefs of Norway's folk healers at home and in the New Land.

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9781681342047

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A history of the ways folk medicine represents a living, evolving body of knowledge and practice--not just as a result of the change in resources and circumstances experienced by immigrants but throughout the documented history of folk medicine in Norway, extending back to the Middle Ages. All too often, folk medicine is portrayed as a kind of timeless survival from a more primitive era, when in fact--as Stokker demonstrates--practice evolves in response to changing needs, materials, and knowledge. . . . An invaluable glimpse into the transformation of day-to-day life of an ethnic group in transition from the Old World to the New. --Bulletin of the History of Medicine Remedies and Rituals brims over with stunning scholarship: Stokker's vivid, illuminating, accessible consideration of medical procedures, clerical perspectives, magical practices, legal strictures, and community structures will endure as a classic study of Norwegian and Norwegian American folklore. --James P. Leary, professor of folklore and Scandinavian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison An absorbing and remarkably thorough historical exploration of folk medicine in Norway and the New Land. This significant and highly readable study, which includes a rich array of remedies and rituals, will appeal to those interested in the intriguing tale of nineteenth-century health care and its contemporary relevance. --Odd S. Lovoll, professor emeritus of history, St. Olaf College This book is a wonderful work. Kathleen Stokker has written a detailed account of the worldview, rituals, and health practices of the Norwegian and Norwegian American immigrant almue, or common folk, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. . . . Anyone interested in the lives of the common folk of Norway in their home country or in America, folk medicine, or the history of medicine and health ideas generally will thoroughly enjoy this book. --South Dakota History

Author Information

Kathleen Stokker is Professor Emeritus of Scandinavian Studies at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Recipient of Norway's prestigious St. Olav Medal in 2006, she is the author of Keeping Christmas: Yuletide Traditions in Norway and the New Land (MNHS Press).

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