Hazards of the Dark Arts: Advice for Medieval Princes on Witchcraft and Magic

Author:   Richard Kieckhefer
Publisher:   Pennsylvania State University Press
Volume:   2
ISBN:  

9780271078403


Pages:   168
Publication Date:   31 May 2022
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
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Hazards of the Dark Arts: Advice for Medieval Princes on Witchcraft and Magic


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Overview

This volume comprises English translations of two fundamentally important texts on magic and witchcraft in the fifteenth century: Johannes Hartlieb’s Book of All Forbidden Arts and Ulrich Molitoris’s On Witches and Pythonesses. Written by laymen and aimed at secular authorities, these works advocated that town leaders and royalty alike should vigorously uproot and prosecute practitioners of witchcraft and magic. Though inquisitors and theologians promulgated the witch trials of late medieval times, lay rulers saw the prosecutions through. But local officials, princes, and kings could be unreliable; some were skeptical about the reality and danger of witchcraft, while others dabbled in the occult themselves. Borrowing from theological and secular sources, Hartlieb and Molitoris agitated against this order in favor of zealously persecuting occultists. Organized as a survey of the seven occult arts, Hartlieb’s text is a systematic treatise on the dangers of superstition and magic. Molitoris’s text presents a dialogue on the activities of witches, including vengeful sorcery, the transformation of humans into animals, and fornication with the devil. Taken together, these tracts show that laymen exerted significant influence on ridding society of their imagined threat. Precisely translated by Richard Kieckhefer, Hazards of the Dark Arts includes an insightful introduction that discusses the authors, their sources and historical environments, the writings themselves, and the influence they had in the development of ideas about witchcraft.

Full Product Details

Author:   Richard Kieckhefer
Publisher:   Pennsylvania State University Press
Imprint:   Pennsylvania State University Press
Volume:   2
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 1.20cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.249kg
ISBN:  

9780271078403


ISBN 10:   0271078405
Pages:   168
Publication Date:   31 May 2022
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Contents List of illustrations List of Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction Johannes Hartlieb, The Book of All Forbidden Arts [A.] Prologue [B.] Powers of the Devil [C.] An example from Caesarius of Heisterbach [D.] Moral exhortation [E.] Nygramancy (necromancy) [F.] Geomancy [G.] Correlation of arts with elements [H.] Hydromancy [I.] Aeromancy [J.] Pyromancy [K.] Chiromancy [L.] Spatulamancy [M.] General prohibition Ulrich Molitoris, On witches and pythonesses, in German Unholden or Hexen Letter [Part I] 1. Weather magic 2. Harm to humans and infants 3. Impotence 4. Change of form 5. Riding on sticks or wolves 6. Intercourse of Devil with women 7. Children born to demons and witches 8. Foretelling future things [Part II] Chaps. 1-3 resumed Chap. 4 resumed Chap. 5 resumed Chaps. 6-7 resumed Epilogue Short bibliography

Reviews

“These two little-known fifteenth-century texts are here expertly translated into English for the first time by one of the world’s leading authorities on medieval magic and witchcraft. They document the involvement of laymen in the early prosecution of witchcraft and provide valuable context for more famous works such as the Malleus maleficarum. The introduction deftly introduces the authors and places the works in the long tradition of manuals for princes. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of magic, witchcraft, heresy, or ‘aberrant’ beliefs.” —Daniel Hobbins, author of Authorship and Publicity Before Print “The two essays presented for the first time in English in Richard Kieckhefer’s Hazards of the Dark Arts show a comparable but refracted view of early modern opinion, reminding us to never underrate its intricacy.” —Camille Ralphs Times Literary Supplement “This is a very useful and engaging volume, and deserves to be widely used in teaching on magic, witchcraft, and courtly culture in the medieval and early modern periods. As a model for similar Magic in History Sourcebooks we might hope to see in the future, it is very encouraging.” —Catherine Rider Speculum “A great boon to the study of witchcraft.” —Cliff Cunningham Sun News Austin


These two little-known fifteenth-century texts are here expertly translated into English for the first time by one of the world's leading authorities on medieval magic and witchcraft. They document the involvement of laymen in the early prosecution of witchcraft and provide valuable context for more famous works such as the Malleus maleficarum. The introduction deftly introduces the authors and places the works in the long tradition of manuals for princes. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of magic, witchcraft, heresy, or 'aberrant' beliefs. --Daniel Hobbins, author of Authorship and Publicity Before Print


The two essays presented for the first time in English in Richard Kieckhefer's Hazards of the Dark Arts show a comparable but refracted view of early modern opinion, reminding us to never underrate its intricacy. -Camille Ralphs, Times Literary Supplement These two little-known fifteenth-century texts are here expertly translated into English for the first time by one of the world's leading authorities on medieval magic and witchcraft. They document the involvement of laymen in the early prosecution of witchcraft and provide valuable context for more famous works such as the Malleus maleficarum. The introduction deftly introduces the authors and places the works in the long tradition of manuals for princes. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of magic, witchcraft, heresy, or `aberrant' beliefs. -Daniel Hobbins, author of Authorship and Publicity Before Print


This is a very useful and engaging volume, and deserves to be widely used in teaching on magic, witchcraft, and courtly culture in the medieval and early modern periods. As a model for similar Magic in History Sourcebooks we might hope to see in the future, it is very encouraging. -Catherine Rider, Speculum The two essays presented for the first time in English in Richard Kieckhefer's Hazards of the Dark Arts show a comparable but refracted view of early modern opinion, reminding us to never underrate its intricacy. -Camille Ralphs, Times Literary Supplement These two little-known fifteenth-century texts are here expertly translated into English for the first time by one of the world's leading authorities on medieval magic and witchcraft. They document the involvement of laymen in the early prosecution of witchcraft and provide valuable context for more famous works such as the Malleus maleficarum. The introduction deftly introduces the authors and places the works in the long tradition of manuals for princes. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of magic, witchcraft, heresy, or 'aberrant' beliefs. -Daniel Hobbins, author of Authorship and Publicity Before Print


These two little-known fifteenth-century texts are here expertly translated into English for the first time by one of the world's leading authorities on medieval magic and witchcraft. They document the involvement of laymen in the early prosecution of witchcraft and provide valuable context for more famous works such as the Malleus maleficarum. The introduction deftly introduces the authors and places the works in the long tradition of manuals for princes. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of magic, witchcraft, heresy, or 'aberrant' beliefs. --Daniel Hobbins, author of Authorship and Publicity Before Print These two little-known fifteenth-century texts are here expertly translated into English for the first time by one of the world s leading authorities on medieval magic and witchcraft. They document the involvement of laymen in the early prosecution of witchcraft and provide valuable context for more famous works such as the Malleus maleficarum. The introduction deftly introduces the authors and places the works in the long tradition of manuals for princes. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of magic, witchcraft, heresy, or aberrant beliefs. Daniel Hobbins, author of Authorship and Publicity Before Print


Author Information

Richard Kieckhefer is Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor of Religious Studies at Northwestern University and author of Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century (Penn State, 1998).

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