Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
This study deals with witchcraft and magic in a legal, social and cultural context, with an interpretation based on an extensive body of Swedish sources comprising more than 350 cases involving 880 individuals.
A majority of the trials took place during the 1700's. The prosecution of witches was characterized by leniency resulting only in a few death sentences; a majority of the cases were minor events concerning more often innocuous magic rather than the witches' sabbath or maleficent witchcraft.
By focusing on the few prosecutions of maleficent witchcraft, this study promotes a critical discussion of how social and cultural perceptions of local witchcraft were generated by the interactions in the legal process, providing us with new insights into early modern European witchcraft.
A majority of the trials took place during the 1700's. The prosecution of witches was characterized by leniency resulting only in a few death sentences; a majority of the cases were minor events concerning more often innocuous magic rather than the witches' sabbath or maleficent witchcraft.
By focusing on the few prosecutions of maleficent witchcraft, this study promotes a critical discussion of how social and cultural perceptions of local witchcraft were generated by the interactions in the legal process, providing us with new insights into early modern European witchcraft.
Price: $179.00
Pages: 240
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Cultures, Beliefs and Traditions: Medieval and Early Modern Peoples
Publication Date:
26 November 1998
ISBN: 9789004111837
Format: Other
Sörlins bok blir [...] oerhört intressant ur ett rättshistoriskt perspektiv då han ger en god bild av den tidigmoderna rättsliga processen när det kommer till bevis, upplägg etc. Vidare intressant blir boken då Sörlin lyfter fram föreställningar som ofta har hamnat i skuggan av den tidigare forskningens elitperspektiv. Här visar han hur dessa trosföreställningar kunde ta sig olika uttryck och visar hur den tidigmoderna människan tolkade och trodde sig kunna påverka sin vardag. Genom sina tolkningsnycklar för Sörlin fram material som inte endast utgår från en elitistisk utgångspunkt och därmed visar hur dessa trosföreställningar kan förstås ur olika perspektiv. Föreställningar som till stor del kan knytas till den vardagliga människan som tidigare ofta fått stå tillbaka för den ”stora historien”.
Christoffer Åhlman, Kirjallisuutta 2012, pp 190-192
Christoffer Åhlman, Kirjallisuutta 2012, pp 190-192
Per Sörlin, Ph.D. (1993), University of Umeå, is Senior Lecturer in History at Mid Sweden University. His publications in English include The Blåkulla Story: Absurdity and Rationality (Arv. Nordic Yearbook of Folklore 1997).