Origins of the Witches' Sabbath

The idea of witches gathering together in large numbers, openly worshiping demons, and receiving instruction in how to work harmful magic as part of a conspiratorial plot against Christian society was an innovation of the early fifteenth century. This concept was first documented in a handful of texts written in the 1430s and clustered geographically around the arc of the western Alps. Origins of the Witches Sabbath provides accessible English translations of the five oldest surviving texts describing the witches sabbath and two witch trials from the period, showing how perceptions of witchcraft shifted from a general belief in harmful magic practiced by individuals to a conspiratorial and organized threat that led to the witch hunts that shook northern Europe and influenced conceptions of diabolical witchcraft for centuries to come.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 136 pages
Publication date: 08 February 2021
Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press

While the perception of magic as harmful has existed for centuries, the notion of witches gathering together in large numbers, openly worshiping demons, and receiving instruction in how to work harmful magic as part of a conspiratorial plot against Christian society emerged in the early fifteenth century. This concept is explored in the sources collected in this book, which reveal its formative stages.

The idea that witches were members of organized heretical sects or part of a vast diabolical conspiracy crystallized most clearly in a handful of texts written in the 1430s and clustered geographically around the arc of the western Alps. Michael D. Bailey presents accessible English translations of the five oldest surviving texts describing the witches' sabbath and of two witch trials from the period. These sources, some of which were previously unavailable in English or available only in incomplete or out-of-date translations, shed light on how perceptions of witchcraft shifted from a general belief in harmful magic practiced by individuals to a conspiratorial and organized threat that led to the witch hunts that shook northern Europe and had a lasting impact on conceptions of diabolical witchcraft for centuries.

Origins of the Witches Sabbath offers a valuable resource for scholars interested in the history of witchcraft, medieval and early modern legal history, religion and theology, magic, and esotericism. By making freshly available a profoundly important group of texts, this book contributes to our understanding of this dark chapter in European history.

Weight: 192g
Dimension: 140 x 215 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780271089102