Witches and Neighbours

A re-examination of the history of European witchcraft which looks beyond the persecutions themselves to concentrate on the society they illuminate. The records of witchcraft trials have allowed the author to build up a detailed description of life among the European peasantry.

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Witchcraft has always intrigued the imagination, sparking visions of Macbeth's hags, complete with heathland, and bubbling cauldrons. Throughout European history, many ordinary people were tried and put to death for witchcraft, often in a brutal and grotesque manner. So who were the witches? What were their practises? What was their place in society? How were they accused, tried and executed? Answering these questions, this comprehensive history of European witchcraft looks beyond the persecutions themselves to concentrate on the society they illuminate. Between 1560 and 1660, more people were tried for witchcraft than at any other time in history. The records of many of the trials have allowed the author to build up a description of life among the European peasantry some 400 years ago: the minutiae of social life, daily activities, neighbourhood and kinship ties and the pervasive force of superstition.