About the author
Robin Briggs is a British historian who spent his career at All Souls College, Oxford, specializing in early modern European history and the study of witchcraft persecution. His book Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft moves away from an exclusive focus on the mechanics of trials and persecution to examine witchcraft belief as an everyday, pervasive part of life in early modern communities. The Witches of Lorraine draws on one of the richest surviving European witch-trial archives to reconstruct, in detail, the lives of ordinary people in a small duchy on the borders of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Briggs's work is grounded in archival research and is widely cited in academic studies of witchcraft, contributing to a shift in the field toward social and local history rather than narratives centered on demonology.
📖 Where to start with Robin Briggs
💬 What our editors say about Robin Briggs's books
“Briggs delivers a rigorous, archive-driven analysis that challenges romanticized notions of witchcraft. While the focus on Lorraine is specific, the insights into social cohesion are broad. However, readers seeking lurid tales of…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on The Witches of Lorraine
“Briggs delivers a compelling revisionist argument that demystifies the witch trials by grounding them in local disputes and court records. The updated bibliography ensures its relevance for contemporary scholars. However, readers…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft (Revised)
