Overview

The only single-volume, scholarly reference work available on this subject, this dictionary provides reliable information on magic and witchcraft for the entire span of western history, from classical antiquity to modern Wicca. Particular attention is paid to the history of witchcraft in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, the era of the great witch-hunts.

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9780810848603

Table of Contents

Reviews

Entries cover a wide range of historical figures, as well as folklore, mythology, and theological ideas associated with early witchcraft and witch trials...accessible and objective. Library Journal ...concise and economical. It should be considered for academic libraries and larger public libraries. Reference Reviews No single author has attempted an English-language reference work on witchcraft since 1959. Following a meaty twenty-six page introduction, this work packs over two hundred short entries into 150 pages, concluding with almost fifty pages of bibliography (including many titles not in English). Its laudably comprehensive coverage extends from pre- to post-Christian forms of magical belief associated with witchcraft, principally contemporary Wicca and Satanism. Bailey...is a medievalist; his numerous entries on medieval topics constitute the richest single part of his enterprise. The author's extremely solid acquaintance with the most important works on witchcraft of the past generation makes his other sections quite reliable also. Religious Studies Review Bailey's dictionary focuses on the historical facts of witchcraft during the era of the European witch hunts, 15th through 18th centuries. He also includes factors that influenced the historical events and beliefs as well as those from other parts of the world such as Africa and the New World. He distinguishes historical witchcraft from the modern practice of witchcraft, often referred to as Wicca. CHOICE ...presents the historical development of witchcraft in the western world as well as provides links between the medieval witchcraft of Europe to the modern practice of Wicca today. The book begins with a chronology of Witchcraft that dates from 1750 B.C.E. with the Code of Hammurabi, one of the first written laws dealing with magic and sorcery, to 1999, when Ronald Hutton Published The Triumph of the Moon, a historical study of modern witchcraft. Following this is an extensive introduction, which provides a historical summary of witchcraft and how it has evolved to the religion of Wicca and neo-paganism today. The bulk of the work is an A to Z listing of terms dealing with important people in the history of witchcraft (both believers and persecutors), legal terms and concepts during the time when witchcraft was considered a crime, and theological concepts of the religion. Most of the entries are one to two paragraphs in length and cross-references to other entries are indicated by bold type within the entry. The work concludes with an extensive bibliography that is organized intro primary sources, general studies, witchcraft in the ancient world, witchcraft in medieval and early-modern Europe, the devil and demonology, theorists of witchcraft, witch American Reference Books Annual ...presents the historical development of witchcraft in the western world as well as provides links between the medieval witchcraft of Europe to the modern practice of Wicca today. The book begins with a chronology of Witchcraft that dates from 1750 B.C.E. with the Code of Hammurabi, one of the first written laws dealing with magic and sorcery, to 1999, when Ronald Hutton Published The Triumph of the Moon, a historical study of modern witchcraft. Following this is an extensive introduction, which provides a historical summary of witchcraft and how it has evolved to the religion of Wicca and neo-paganism today. The bulk of the work is an A to Z listing of terms dealing with important people in the history of witchcraft (both believers and persecutors), legal terms and concepts during the time when witchcraft was considered a crime, and theological concepts of the religion. Most of the entries are one to two paragraphs in length and cross-references to other entries are indicated by bold type within the entry. The work concludes with an extensive bibliography that is organized intro primary sources, general studies, witchcraft in the ancient world, witchcraft in medieval and early-modern Europe, the devil and demonology, theorists of witchcraft, witchcraft in art, witchcraft in the modern world, and non-European witchcraft. American Reference Books Annual

Author Information

Michael D. Bailey is visiting assistant professor in the department of history at Iowa State University. He is the author of Battling Demons: Witchcraft, Heresy, and Reform in the Late Middle Ages. He has held academic positions at Bethany College, Kansas, at the University of Cincinnati, at the Medieval Institute of the University of Notre Dame, and at Saint Louis University.

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