Geography of Witchcraft — Witchcraft Wicca

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🌙 Witchcraft & Wicca

Geography of Witchcraft

Name: Geography of Witchcraft
Price: 65.99 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780415847933

✍️ Summers, Montague

Reader Score

4.4

(1 review)

$65.99

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📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

Montague Summers meticulously expands upon his previous monumental work, charting the historical proliferation of witchcraft across the globe. This volume delves into detailed accounts of its perceived manifestation, presenting extensive evidence from diverse cultures and eras. Readers will find comprehensive chapters dedicated to its presence in ancient Greece and Rome, its fervent grip on medieval Europe, including England, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and its enduring influence even in the New World, specifically New England. Summers endeavors to illustrate the pervasive 'epidemic' through a rich tapestry of historical anecdotes and documented cases.

Summers, Montague

📚 all books by this author (19) →

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Witchcraft & Wicca

🏛 Routledge 📅 2013 📖 650 pages 📔 Paperback ISBN: 9780415847933

Fun Fact

Summers' *Geography of Witchcraft* is a monumental, if dated, scholarly endeavor, offering an unparalleled historical survey of global witchcraft beliefs from a specific early 20th-century perspective. While it excels in its exhaustive compilation of historical accounts and ambitious scope, readers seeking a nuanced, sympathetic, or modern anthropological view will be disappointed. It remains an essential, though polemical, primary source for understanding how witchcraft was perceived and documented by scholars of his era.

📝 Description: Geography of Witchcraft

In this work the author gives detailed evidence for the ascent of Witchcraft set out in his previous volume of The History Witchcraft and Demonology. The epedemic that occurred is trated as it appeared in various countries and comprehensive chapters deal with Grece, rome, England, Scotland, New England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

📑 What's inside

INTRODUCTION
I. GREECE AND ROME
II. ENGLAND
III. SCOTLAND
IV. NEw ENGLAND
V. FRANCE
VI. GERMANY
VII. ITALY
VIII. SPAIN
INDEX

💎 Expert review

“

💎

Esoterica Books editorial team

Occult literature desk

Summers’ Geography of Witchcraft is a dense, exhaustive survey that prioritizes breadth over critical nuance. While it offers a fascinating glimpse into early 20th-century perspectives on global witchcraft, it is not suited for modern anthropologists or skeptics seeking objective analysis. Readers expecting balanced historiography may find Summers' assertions regarding the 'epidemic' of witchcraft overly literal and lacking contemporary scholarly detachment. It is best approached as a historical artifact of occult studies rather than definitive truth. However, for those interested in the sheer volume of documented cases across continents, it remains an undeniable resource that captures the fervor of its era.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

This volume is essential for the dedicated scholar or enthusiast seeking a comprehensive, albeit controversial, cartography of witchcraft history. Readers who appreciate exhaustive documentation and are interested in how perceived manifestations of witchcraft spread across ancient Greece, Rome, medieval Europe, and New England will find immense value here. Summers’ meticulous expansion on his previous work offers a unique perspective on the 'epidemic' nature of these beliefs, providing rich anecdotes and documented cases that illuminate the fervent grip this phenomenon held on diverse cultures from England to Spain. It serves those who wish to understand the historical depth and global tapestry of occult practices through a rigorous, if singular, viewpoint.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —

⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.5/5

★★★★★

If you are a serious student of historical occultism, particularly interested in the detailed, if controversial, perspectives of early 20th-century scholars on witchcraft's global spread, this book offers a deep dive into historical accounts and interpretations.

Reader rating

4.4

Based on 1 reviews

Esoterica Books editorial team

Summers’ Geography of Witchcraft is a dense, exhaustive survey that prioritizes breadth over critical nuance. While it offers a fascinating glimpse into early 20th-century perspectives on global witchcraft, it is not suited for modern anthropologists or skeptics seeking objective analysis. Readers expecting balanced historiography may find Summers' assertions regarding the 'epidemic' of witchcraft overly literal and lacking contemporary scholarly detachment. It is best approached as a historical artifact of occult studies rather than definitive truth. However, for those interested in the sheer volume of documented cases across continents, it remains an undeniable resource that captures the fervor of its era.

❓ Frequently asked questions

No, Summers approaches the subject from a largely condemnatory and alarmist perspective, viewing witchcraft as a tangible evil rather than a persecuted folk tradition or a social construct.

Absolutely. The book dedicates comprehensive chapters to the manifestations of witchcraft in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, among many other geographical regions.

📖 Who should read this

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Global Witchcraft Manifestations

This work meticulously chronicles how beliefs and accusations of witchcraft appeared uniquely across various geographical locales. Summers dissects the distinct cultural and historical contexts of each region, from the classical world of Greece and Rome to the fervent trials of New England, illustrating the diverse forms the phenomenon adopted throughout history.

Documenting the Ascent

Building directly upon his foundational text, *The History of Witchcraft and Demonology*, Summers continues his exploration of what he posits as the rising influence and spread of witchcraft. He aims to provide a continuous narrative, tracing its trajectory and perceived increase in prominence throughout different historical periods and societal structures.

Evidential Historical Approach

Rather than offering mere conjecture, Summers presents a wealth of "detailed evidence" to substantiate his claims about the widespread nature of witchcraft. His method involves drawing upon historical records, trial transcripts, and cultural accounts from each region discussed, aiming for a comprehensive, if decidedly biased, documentation of the phenomenon.

📜 Historical context

Montague Summers was a prominent early 20th-century scholar known for his exhaustive, yet often sensationalized, studies of witchcraft and demonology. His work sits within a tradition of occult scholarship that, while academic in its scope, often approached its subject with a belief in the literal reality of the phenomena described, influencing subsequent researchers even if their conclusions differed.

📚 Glossary

Witchcraft
Demonology
Occultism

📔 Questions to reflect on

How might Summers' personal beliefs and the prevailing cultural anxieties of his time have shaped his interpretation of historical 'evidence' regarding witchcraft?
Consider how modern anthropology or sociology might approach the same historical events and cultural phenomena differently than Summers did in this work.
Which region discussed in the book do you find most compelling, and what does its specific manifestation of witchcraft reveal about the cultural anxieties of that particular era?