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An Elizabethan Lawyer's Possession by the Devil: The Story of Robert Brigges — Occult Philosophy

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An Elizabethan Lawyer's Possession by the Devil: The Story of Robert Brigges

Name: An Elizabethan Lawyer's Possession by the Devil: The Story of Robert Brigges
Price: 100.00 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780275978372

✍️ Sands, Kathleen R

Reader Score

4.6

(1 review)

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📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

This compelling study resurrects the chilling, almost forgotten account of Robert Brigges, a London barrister in 1574, who endured three weeks of intense demonic possession. Brigges's ordeal, marked by furious outbursts, profound despair, and vivid sensory deprivation, is unique due to its remarkably detailed, spontaneous, and first-person documentation. Author Kathleen Sands meticulously analyzes these unearthed manuscripts, offering an unprecedented look into the private torment of the afflicted. Sands skillfully contextualizes Brigges's experience, challenging the established historical view that only the socially marginalized were susceptible to such supernatural assaults in early modern England.

Sands, Kathleen R

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🕯️

Occult Philosophy

🏛 Praeger 📅 2002 📖 192 pages 📔 Hardcover ISBN: 9780275978372

Fun Fact

Sands has delivered a genuinely revelatory work, breathing life into a forgotten, pivotal historical document. This book excels in its meticulous analysis and its bold challenge to long-held assumptions about social class and supernatural vulnerability. While readers seeking pure sensationalism might find its academic rigor less thrilling, this is an indispensable addition to early modern history, demonology, and cultural studies, offering profound insights into societal fears.

📝 Description: An Elizabethan Lawyer's Possession by the Devil: The Story of Robert Brigges

During April 1574, an aspiring London barrister named Robert Brigges was possessed by Satan. For three weeks, Brigges shouted, raged, and sobbed; suffered from sensory deprivations; and engaged in impassioned disputes with his invisible adversary. Although Brigges's case was considered significant in its time, it is virtually unknown today, with modern scholars rarely mentioning and never analyzing it. The case, however, is very unusual--perhaps unique among English cases--in its first-person, spontaneous, highly detailed documentation of the afflicted person's experience and in its sociocultural details. Sands challenges the prevailing notion that cases of early modern English demon possession occurred only among the socially impotent. The manuscript sources of this episode (published here for the first time) bombard the reader with an accretion of detail that is never connected to any broad assertion of what really happened, never connected to any larger historical significance. It is this connection that Sands's study aims to establish through an analysis of the cultural context of Brigges's experience. The case affords us a rare glimpse into the dark, private, unedited side of an intelligent, articulate, educated, early modern mind. A serious attempt to understand the workings of that mind requires us to understand and accept (for the purposes of analysis) the concepts that furnish it. Only through this approach can we hope to bridge the cultural gap between that mind and ours--thus experiencing, even if only momentarily, the common humanity of present and past.

💎 Expert review

“

💎

Esoterica Books editorial team

Occult literature desk

Sands delivers a compelling resurrection of Robert Brigges's ordeal, providing unprecedented insight into first-person accounts of possession. The analysis is rigorous and historically grounded, effectively challenging established views on social susceptibility. However, readers seeking sensationalist ghost stories or fast-paced horror narratives will be disappointed by the academic tone and focus on historical context over dramatic flair. This is not a light read; it demands attention to scholarly detail and legal/historical nuance. It suits those interested in primary source analysis and theological history but may bore those looking for pure entertainment or supernatural thriller elements.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

Scholars of early modern history and theology will find this book invaluable for its rigorous analysis of the Brigges manuscripts. It offers a rare, intimate glimpse into the psychological landscape of demonic possession through the eyes of an educated elite, challenging assumptions about who was susceptible to such afflictions. Readers interested in the legal profession's historical relationship with the occult will appreciate Sands' meticulous contextualization. By focusing on a barrister rather than a marginalized figure, the text provides a nuanced perspective on faith and fear in 1574 London, making it essential for those seeking to understand the complex spiritual anxieties of the Elizabethan era.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —

⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.6/5

★★★★★

If you're drawn to the shadowy corners of history, fascinated by early modern occult beliefs, or seek to understand the human experience of supernatural phenomena through unique primary sources, this book is essential. It challenges conventional historical perspectives on demonic possession.

Reader rating

4.6

Based on 1 reviews

Esoterica Books editorial team

Sands delivers a compelling resurrection of Robert Brigges's ordeal, providing unprecedented insight into first-person accounts of possession. The analysis is rigorous and historically grounded, effectively challenging established views on social susceptibility. However, readers seeking sensationalist ghost stories or fast-paced horror narratives will be disappointed by the academic tone and focus on historical context over dramatic flair. This is not a light read; it demands attention to scholarly detail and legal/historical nuance. It suits those interested in primary source analysis and theological history but may bore those looking for pure entertainment or supernatural thriller elements.

❓ Frequently asked questions

No, this is a scholarly historical analysis. It meticulously examines genuine primary documents detailing a real 16th-century case of alleged demonic possession, aiming to provide academic insight rather than fictionalized storytelling.

Its uniqueness stems from the unprecedented level of detailed, spontaneous, first-person documentation of the afflicted individual's experience. Most contemporary accounts are filtered through observers or formal interrogations, making Brigges's direct perspective exceptionally rare.

📖 Who should read this

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Unedited Demonic Affliction

This book offers an unparalleled window into the raw, unmediated experience of demonic possession through the remarkably detailed, spontaneous accounts of Robert Brigges. Unlike other historical records, it presents the afflicted individual's personal turmoil, sensory shifts, and direct confrontations with an unseen entity, providing a truly intimate perspective on supernatural torment.

Reconsidering Social Vulnerability

Sands directly refutes the common historical assumption that only the socially powerless or marginalized were targets of demonic possession in early modern England. By focusing on Brigges, an aspiring barrister, the study demonstrates that supernatural affliction could transcend social standing, forcing a reevaluation of our understanding of such phenomena.

Elizabethan Belief Systems

Beyond the personal ordeal, the book deeply explores the cultural fabric of Elizabethan England that shaped perceptions and interpretations of demonic possession. Sands skillfully connects Brigges's individual suffering to the broader societal beliefs, anxieties, and spiritual framework of the time, revealing how such events were understood and integrated into daily life.

📜 Historical context

This study emerges from a rich tradition of scholarship on early modern demonology and witchcraft in England, a period rife with spiritual anxieties and legal persecution. Sands's work stands apart by moving beyond typical court records to focus on a rare, spontaneous first-person account, offering a distinctive counterpoint to the more common narratives of accusers and accused.

📚 Glossary

Demonic Possession
Elizabethan Era
Barrister

📔 Questions to reflect on

How might the detailed, first-person nature of Brigges's account challenge or confirm your existing understanding of historical cases of alleged demonic possession?
Considering Sands's argument about social status, what implications does this have for interpreting other historical instances of supernatural affliction?
If such an event were to occur today, how do you think it would be understood, documented, and treated differently compared to the Elizabethan era?