Overview

Drawing on detailed records from European witch trials, this book examines the belief that an organized pre-Christian fertility cult survived into the early modern period under the label of witchcraft. It presents Margaret Murray's literal reading of judicial testimonies, incorporating extensive quotations from court documents and related sources in their original archaic English, French, and German. Situated within early twentieth-century scholarship on folklore, anthropology, and religion, the work played a significant role in shaping debates about the historical reality behind witchcraft accusations. Thematically, it explores ritual practice, religious continuity, and the interpretation of hostile legal evidence, while challenging prevailing views of witch trials as purely products of superstition or persecution. Despite its controversial conclusions and demanding source material, the book remains a landmark study whose arguments profoundly influenced the study of European witchcraft and its historiography.

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9781397670229

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