{"product_id":"witchcraft-in-the-middle-ages","title":"Witchcraft in the Middle Ages","description":"\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow did scattered beliefs about sorcery, demons, heresy, and forbidden magic gradually coalesce into the terrifying figure of the European witch?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this landmark historical study, medieval scholar Jeffrey Burton Russell traces the development of witchcraft in Western Europe from the fifth through the fifteenth century. Drawing upon theological writings, legal records, chronicles, folklore, and accounts of heretical movements, Russell examines the long and complicated process through which older traditions of magic became entangled with Christian ideas of Satan, apostasy, and demonic conspiracy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRather than treating medieval witchcraft as a single, unchanging tradition, Russell carefully reconstructs its many constituent elements: pagan survivals, popular sorcery, learned demonology, ecclesiastical anxieties, accusations of nocturnal gatherings, and the persecution of religious dissent. Of particular importance is his argument that the fully developed concept of diabolical witchcraft emerged within the distinctive religious and social environment of medieval Christianity—especially through its confrontation with heresy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRigorous yet highly readable, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWitchcraft in the Middle Ages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e remains an essential work for understanding the intellectual and cultural foundations of the later European witch trials. It will appeal to historians, medievalists, folklorists, students of demonology, and serious readers interested in the darker currents of Western esoteric and religious history.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA foundational volume for any substantial library of witchcraft, magic, demonology, or medieval studies.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"eBay","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46212491935880,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0722\/9695\/6040\/files\/ChatGPTImageJul17_2026at11_07_55AM.png?v=1784312093","url":"https:\/\/obscurabibliotheca.com\/products\/witchcraft-in-the-middle-ages","provider":"Obscura Bibliotheca LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}