Witchcraft : a history in thirteen trials Cover Image

Book

Witchcraft : a history in thirteen trials / Marion Gibson.

Gibson, Marion, 1970- (author.).

Summary:

"Witchcraft is a ... journey through thirteen witch trials across history, some famous-like the Salem witch trials-and some lesser-known: on Vardø island, Norway, in the 1620s, where an indigenous Sami woman was accused of murder; in France in 1731, during the country's last witch trial, where a young woman was pitted against her confessor and cult leader; in Pennsylvania in 1929 where a magical healer was labelled a 'witch'; in Lesotho in 1948, where British colonial authorities executed local leaders. Exploring how witchcraft became feared, decriminalized, reimagined, and eventually reframed as gendered persecution, Witchcraft takes on the intersections between gender and power, indigenous spirituality and colonial rule, and political conspiracy and individual resistance. Offering a vivid, compelling, and dramatic story, unspooling through centuries, about the men and women who were accused-some of whom survived their trials, and some who did not-Witchcraft empowers the people who were and are victimized and marginalized, giving a voice to those who were silenced by history."-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781668002421 (hardcover)
Physical Description: xx, 300 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour) ; 22 cm
Edition: First Scribner hardcover edition.
Publisher: New York : Scribner, 2024.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction : what is a witch? -- Part one. Origins -- The trial of Helena Scheuberin : a demonologist hammers witches -- The trial of the North Berwick witches : a king delights in demonology -- The trial of the Vardø witches : demonology at Europe's colonial edge -- The trial of Joan Wright : practical magic and America's first witch -- The trial of Bess Clarke : disability and demonic families in the English Civil War -- The trial of Tatbe : slavery and survival on the Salem frontier -- Intermission : from demonlogy to doubt -- Part two. Echoes -- The trial of Marie-Catherine Cadière : witches reimagined and a French Revolution -- The trial of Montague Summers : satanism, sex, and demonology reborn -- The trial of John Blymyer : powwow and poverty in Pennsylvania -- The trial of Nellie Duncan : witchcraft acts and World War II -- The trial of Bereng Lerotholi and Gabashane Masupha : magical murder at the end of European empire -- Intermission : witch trials today -- Part three. Transformations -- The trial of "Shula": witchcraft in Africa -- The trial of Stormy Daniels : witchcraft in North America -- Epilogue : so, what is a witch now?