Writing the History of Witchcraft: A Personal View
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v12i2.239Keywords:
WitchcraftAbstract
Over the past forty years, professional historians have taken an intense, and unprecedented, degree of interest in the early modern European witch trials, resulting in a huge amount of new publications. These have had a knock-on effect on the self-image of modern witches, based as that has traditionally been on an interpretation of early modern witchcraft which was firmly rejected by these new studies. This resulted in a period of re-evaluation, to which both academics and Pagans have contributed (sometimes being the same people). As a contributor to that process, I would like here to situate my own work within it, and suggest that important opportunities have been provided by changing scholarly attitudes, both for professional historians and for modern Paganism. I would also suggest that in some respects they have also been missed, by both groups. Some attempt will be made, in the light of this, both to suggest ways of pursuing further research and predicting directions in which further research is most likely to go.References
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———. Witches and Witch-Hunts. Cambridge: Polity, 2004.
Briggs, Robin. Witches and Neighbours. London: HarperCollins, 1996.
———. The Witches of Lorraine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. doi:10.1093/a cprof:oso/9780198225829.001.0001
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Davies, Owen. Cunning-Folk. London: Hambledon and London, 2003.
———. A People Bewitched. Trowbridge: Redwood, 1999.
———. Witchcraft, Magic and Culture 1736-1951. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999.
Gibson, Marion. Reading Witchcraft: Stories of Early English Witches. London: Routledge, 1999.
Ginzburg, Carlo. Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath. London: Hutchinson, 1991.
Goodare, Julian, ed. Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
Henningsen, Gustav. “The Ladies from Outside.” In Early Modern Witchcraft, edited by Ankarloo, Bengt, and Gustav Henningsen, 191-218. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
———. The Witches’ Advocate. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1980.
Heselton, Philip. Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration. Milverton: Capall Bann, 2003.
———. Wiccan Roots. Chieveley: Capall Bann, 2000.
Hutton, Ronald. “Anthropological and Historical Approaches to Witchcraft.” Historical Journal 47 (2004): 413-34. doi:10.1017/S0018246X03003558
——— “Can We Still Have a Pagan Tolkien?” In The Ring and the Cross: J.R.R. Tolkien and Religion, edited by Paul Kerry. Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, forthcoming.
———. “The Global Context of the Scottish Witch-Hunt.” In The Scottish Witch- Hunt in Context, edited by Julian Goodare, 16-32. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002.
———. “Modern Pagan Festivals.” Folklore 119 (2008): 251-73. doi:10.1080/00155870802352178
———. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991.
———. “The Pagan Tolkien.” In The Ring and the Cross: J.R.R. Tolkien and Religion, edited by Paul Kerry. Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, forthcoming.
——— “The Roots of Modern Paganism.” In Paganism Today, edited by Graham Harvey and Charlotte Hardman, 4-15. London: Thorsons, 1996.
——— The Stations of the Sun. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
———. “The Status of Witchcraft in the Modern World.” The Pomegranate 9 (2007): 126-7. doi:10.1558/pome.v9i2.121
———. The Triumph of the Moon. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
——— . Witches, Druids and King Arthur. London: Hambledon and London, 2003.
———. “Witch-Hunting in Celtic Societies.” Past and Present, forthcoming.
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Macintyre, John. “Rebutting Bull!” Pagan Dawn, Beltane 2000, 39-40.
Monter, William. “Witch Trials in Continental Europe 1560-1660.” In The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe. Volume 4: The Period of the Witch Trials, edited by Bengt Ankarloo, Stuart Clark, and William Monter, 1-52. London: Athlone, 2002).
Pennick, Nigel. Anima Loci. Cambridge: Old England House, 1993.
———. Masterworks. Loughborough: Heart of Albion, 2002.
———. New Troy Resurgent: The Mysteries of St Martin’s. Cambridge: Old England House, 2005.
———. On the Spiritual Arts and Crafts. Cambridge: Old England House, 2006.
Pocs, Eva. Between the Living and the Dead. Budapest: Central European University Press, 1999.
Purkiss, Diane. The Witch in History. London: Routledge, 1996. Reid, Forrest. The Kingdom of Twilight. London: Unwin, 1904.
Robisheaux, Thomas. The Last Witch of Langenburg. New York: Norton, 2009.
Roper, Lyndal. Oedipus and the Devil. London: Routledge, 1994. doi:10.4324/9780203426296.
———. Witch Craze. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004.
Scarre, Geoffrey, and John Callow, Witchcraft and Magic in Sixteenth- and SeventeenthCentury Europe, 2nd edition. London: Palgrave, 2001.
Sharpe, James. Instruments of Darkness. London: Hamilton, 1996;
Warner, Marina. “Scholar Who was Seduced by the Pagan Rituals of Witchcraft.” The Times, 25 November 1999.
Whitmore, Ben. Trials of the Moon. Auckland: Briar, 2010.
Wilby, Emma. Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005.
——— The Visions of Isobel Gowdie. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2010.
Almond, Philip C. The Witches of Warboys: An Extraordinary Story of Sorcery, Sadism and Satanic Possession. London: Tauris, 2008.
Behringer, Wolfgang. Shaman of Oberstdorf: Chonrad Stoeckhlin and the Phantoms of the Night. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1998.
———. Witches and Witch-Hunts. Cambridge: Polity, 2004.
Briggs, Robin. Witches and Neighbours. London: HarperCollins, 1996.
———. The Witches of Lorraine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. doi:10.1093/a cprof:oso/9780198225829.001.0001
Clark, Stuart. Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Clifton, Chas S. Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America. Lanham, Md.: AltaMira Press, 2006.
Davies, Owen. Cunning-Folk. London: Hambledon and London, 2003.
———. A People Bewitched. Trowbridge: Redwood, 1999.
———. Witchcraft, Magic and Culture 1736-1951. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999.
Gibson, Marion. Reading Witchcraft: Stories of Early English Witches. London: Routledge, 1999.
Ginzburg, Carlo. Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath. London: Hutchinson, 1991.
Goodare, Julian, ed. Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
Henningsen, Gustav. “The Ladies from Outside.” In Early Modern Witchcraft, edited by Ankarloo, Bengt, and Gustav Henningsen, 191-218. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
———. The Witches’ Advocate. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1980.
Heselton, Philip. Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration. Milverton: Capall Bann, 2003.
———. Wiccan Roots. Chieveley: Capall Bann, 2000.
Hutton, Ronald. “Anthropological and Historical Approaches to Witchcraft.” Historical Journal 47 (2004): 413-34. doi:10.1017/S0018246X03003558
——— “Can We Still Have a Pagan Tolkien?” In The Ring and the Cross: J.R.R. Tolkien and Religion, edited by Paul Kerry. Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, forthcoming.
———. “The Global Context of the Scottish Witch-Hunt.” In The Scottish Witch- Hunt in Context, edited by Julian Goodare, 16-32. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002.
———. “Modern Pagan Festivals.” Folklore 119 (2008): 251-73. doi:10.1080/00155870802352178
———. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991.
———. “The Pagan Tolkien.” In The Ring and the Cross: J.R.R. Tolkien and Religion, edited by Paul Kerry. Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, forthcoming.
——— “The Roots of Modern Paganism.” In Paganism Today, edited by Graham Harvey and Charlotte Hardman, 4-15. London: Thorsons, 1996.
——— The Stations of the Sun. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
———. “The Status of Witchcraft in the Modern World.” The Pomegranate 9 (2007): 126-7. doi:10.1558/pome.v9i2.121
———. The Triumph of the Moon. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
——— . Witches, Druids and King Arthur. London: Hambledon and London, 2003.
———. “Witch-Hunting in Celtic Societies.” Past and Present, forthcoming.
Irwin, Robert. “How Pan Cast his Spell on the Suburbs.” The Independent, 11 December 1999.
Jolly, Karen. “Father God and Mother Earth: Nature-Mysticism in the Anglo-Saxon World.” In The Medieval World of Nature, edited by Joyce E. Salisbury, 221-52. New York: Garland, 1993.
Jones, Prudence. “The Three Goddesses,” Pagan Dawn136 (2000): 26-28.
Kelly, Aidan. Crafting the Art of Magic. St Paul: Llewellyn, 1991.
Levack, Brian. The Witch Hunt in Early Modern Europe. Harlow: Pearson, 2006.
Macintyre, John. “Rebutting Bull!” Pagan Dawn, Beltane 2000, 39-40.
Monter, William. “Witch Trials in Continental Europe 1560-1660.” In The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe. Volume 4: The Period of the Witch Trials, edited by Bengt Ankarloo, Stuart Clark, and William Monter, 1-52. London: Athlone, 2002).
Pennick, Nigel. Anima Loci. Cambridge: Old England House, 1993.
———. Masterworks. Loughborough: Heart of Albion, 2002.
———. New Troy Resurgent: The Mysteries of St Martin’s. Cambridge: Old England House, 2005.
———. On the Spiritual Arts and Crafts. Cambridge: Old England House, 2006.
Pocs, Eva. Between the Living and the Dead. Budapest: Central European University Press, 1999.
Purkiss, Diane. The Witch in History. London: Routledge, 1996. Reid, Forrest. The Kingdom of Twilight. London: Unwin, 1904.
Robisheaux, Thomas. The Last Witch of Langenburg. New York: Norton, 2009.
Roper, Lyndal. Oedipus and the Devil. London: Routledge, 1994. doi:10.4324/9780203426296.
———. Witch Craze. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004.
Scarre, Geoffrey, and John Callow, Witchcraft and Magic in Sixteenth- and SeventeenthCentury Europe, 2nd edition. London: Palgrave, 2001.
Sharpe, James. Instruments of Darkness. London: Hamilton, 1996;
Warner, Marina. “Scholar Who was Seduced by the Pagan Rituals of Witchcraft.” The Times, 25 November 1999.
Whitmore, Ben. Trials of the Moon. Auckland: Briar, 2010.
Wilby, Emma. Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005.
——— The Visions of Isobel Gowdie. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2010.
Published
2011-06-05
Issue
Section
Review Articles
How to Cite
Hutton, R. (2011). Writing the History of Witchcraft: A Personal View. Pomegranate, 12(2), 239-262. https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v12i2.239
