Witchcraft and its Transformations c.1650–c.1750
Ian Bostridge
Abstract
This book is about the significance of witchcraft in English public life (c.1650–c.1750), and deals with contemporary opinion regarding its theological, philosophical, and legal dimensions. The book discusses civil war politics, the writings of Thomas Hobbes, the debate about witchcraft at the time of the Glorious Revolution, and the disputes surrounding the repeal of Jacobean witchcraft legislation in 1736. It also examines the work of less familiar writers and propagandists such as Richard Boulton, Francis Hutchinson, and James Erskine of Grange, and balances this account of the gradual demi ... More
This book is about the significance of witchcraft in English public life (c.1650–c.1750), and deals with contemporary opinion regarding its theological, philosophical, and legal dimensions. The book discusses civil war politics, the writings of Thomas Hobbes, the debate about witchcraft at the time of the Glorious Revolution, and the disputes surrounding the repeal of Jacobean witchcraft legislation in 1736. It also examines the work of less familiar writers and propagandists such as Richard Boulton, Francis Hutchinson, and James Erskine of Grange, and balances this account of the gradual demise of witchcraft theory in Britain with a comparative case study of the debate in France. Finally, by asserting that witchcraft remained a serious topic of debate well into the eighteenth century, and that its descent into polite ridicule had as much to do with politics as with the birth of reason, the book offers a lively critique of current interpretations of English popular culture and political change.
Keywords:
witchcraft,
civil war,
Thomas Hobbes,
Glorious Revolution,
Jacobean witchcraft legislation,
Richard Boulton,
Francis Hutchinson,
James Erskine of Grange,
France,
Britain
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 1997 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198206538 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206538.001.0001 |