Physical Evidence for Ritual Acts, Sorcery and Witchcraft in Christian Britain investigates the physical evidence for magic in medieval and modern Britain, including ritual marks and designs, concealed objects, amulets hung about the person and home, and the equipment of folk magicians. The subject has been largely neglected by mainstream historians and archaeologists, and the contributors to this volume represent the current leading experts in each part of it, and often the pioneers of study of it. Between them, they show how ample and convincing the evidence is, and how it forces us to reconsider the history of ritual and religion in Britain since the Middle Ages and admit to the existence of a whole dimension of activity which has hardly been considered before. It should therefore have importance to those interested in British history in general across this large span of time.
Recenzijos
This is a fascinating, educational, elegantly written, and well-argued collection which pushes the boundaries of mainstream historical and archaeological research, shining a light on a very important subject so far over-neglected. I strongly believe that it should be considered as required reading for undergraduate and graduate students of different disciplines, and for field archaeologists especially involved in commercial archaeology. (Debora Moretti, Magic Ritual and Witchcraft, Vol. 13 (1), 2018)
Ronald Hutton, Timothy Eastham and their fellow contributors are to be congratulated on a book full of interest. the book is largely concerned with the English evidence but with a final glance at Australia and United States. Its great merit is that it takes seriously as a subject of study the puzzling graffiti scratched, drawn and painted in buildings. the book is really the beginning ofa conversation rather than the last word on the subject. (Richard Suggett, Archaeologia Cambrensis, Vol. 166, 2017)
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vii | |
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ix | |
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| Acknowledgements |
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xi | |
| Notes on Contributors |
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xii | |
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1 | (14) |
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2 Magic on the Walls: Ritual Protection Marks in the Medieval Church |
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15 | (24) |
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3 Apotropaic Symbols and Other Measures for Protecting Buildings against Misfortune |
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39 | (29) |
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4 Instances and Contexts of the Head Motif in Britain |
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68 | (23) |
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5 Witch Bottles: Their Contents, Contexts and Uses |
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91 | (15) |
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106 | (12) |
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7 Shoes Concealed in Buildings |
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118 | (13) |
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8 Garments Concealed within Buildings: Following the Evidence |
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131 | (16) |
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147 | (17) |
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10 Textual Evidence for the Material History of Amulets in Seventeenth-Century England |
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164 | (24) |
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11 Amulets: The Material Evidence |
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188 | (21) |
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12 Cunning-Folk and the Production of Magical Artefacts |
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209 | (23) |
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13 The Wider Picture: Parallel Evidence in America and Australia |
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232 | (23) |
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| Index |
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255 | |
John Billingsley, Independent Scholar, UK Tabitha Cadbury, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, UK Matthew Champion, Freelance Archaeologist, UK Alexander Cummins, University of Bristol, UK Owen Davies, University of Hertfordshire, UK Timothy Easton, Independent Artist and Sculptor, UK Dinah Eastop, University College London, UK Ian Evans, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia Brian Hoggard, Independent Scholar, UK M. Chris Manning, Dovetail Cultural Resource Group, USA June Swann MBE, Northampton Museum, UK
