{"title":"Books by Richard Kieckhefer","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780271017518","title":"Forbidden Rites","description":"\u003cp\u003ePreserved in the Bavarian State Library in Munich is a manuscript that few scholars have noticed and that no one in modern times has treated with the seriousness it deserves. \u003ci\u003eForbidden Rites\u003c\/i\u003e consists of an edition of this medieval Latin text with a full commentary, including detailed analysis of the text and its contents, discussion of the historical context, translation of representative sections of the text, and comparison with other necromantic texts of the late Middle Ages. The result is the most vivid and readable introduction to medieval magic now available.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike many medieval texts for the use of magicians, this handbook is a miscellany rather than a systematic treatise. It is exceptional, however, in the scope and variety of its contents—prayers and conjurations, rituals of sympathetic magic, procedures involving astral magic, a catalogue of spirits, lengthy ceremonies for consecrating a book of magic, and other materials.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith more detail on particular experiments than the famous thirteenth-century \u003ci\u003ePicatrix\u003c\/i\u003e and more variety than the \u003ci\u003eThesaurus Necromantiae\u003c\/i\u003e ascribed to Roger Bacon, the manual is one of the most interesting and important manuscripts of medieval magic that has yet come to light.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56232628683125,"sku":"9780271017518","price":28.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780271017518_11f62282-970d-4fe4-83da-27dabd50fea5.jpg?v=1786012437"},{"product_id":"european-witch-trials-rle-witchcraft","title":"European Witch Trials (RLE Witchcraft)","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn popular tradition witches were either practitioners of magic or people who were objectionable in some way, but for early European courts witches were heretics and worshippers of the Devil. This study concentrates on the period between 1300 and 1500 when ideas about witchcraft were being formed and witch-hunting was gathering momentum. It is concerned with distinguishing between the popular and learned ideas of witchcraft. The author has developed his own methodology for distinguishing popular from learned concepts, which provides adequate substantiation for the acceptance of some documents and the rejection of others.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466640138613,"sku":"9780415619257","price":187.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780415619257.jpg?v=1785654698"},{"product_id":"european-witch-trials-their-foundations-in-popular-and-learned-culture-1300-1500","title":"European Witch Trials – Their Foundations in Popular and Learned Culture, 1300–1500","description":"European Witch Trials: Their Foundations in Popular and Learned Culture, 1300-1500 explores the intricate dynamics of witchcraft accusations and trials during the medieval period, seeking to untangle the roots of these phenomena in both popular and learned cultures. The author critiques the anthropological approach to the European witch trials, noting that while European society differed significantly from non-Western societies, the mechanisms behind witch beliefs and persecutions seem to transcend these cultural distinctions. Despite societal differences, both European and primitive cultures exhibited a fluidity in their understanding of causality, where magical, natural, and religious explanations coexisted without conflict, providing fertile ground for witch accusations.    The book delves into the challenge of discerning the true nature of witch beliefs in early European society, particularly the distinction between learned and popular traditions. Many scholars have proposed various foundations for witch beliefs—some argue that these beliefs were born of learned theological concepts, while others suggest they were rooted in popular folklore or even illicit practices. The author discusses these differing perspectives, offering a framework for distinguishing between sorcery, invocation, and diabolism, the core components of witchcraft, while acknowledging the blurring of these concepts in historical documents. By focusing on the period between 1300 and 1500, the work highlights the geographical regions most affected by witch trials, primarily in England, France, Italy, and Germany, offering a nuanced exploration of how these trials were influenced by societal anxieties and cultural tensions of the late medieval period.    This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1976.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57481513664885,"sku":"9780520320574","price":34.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780520320574.jpg?v=1786089779"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-richard-kieckhefer.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}