Werewolves, Witches, and Wandering Spirits

Download or read book Werewolves, Witches, and Wandering Spirits written by Kathryn A. Edwards and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2002-10-25 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together scholars from Europe, America, and Australia, this volume explores the more fantastic elements of popular religious belief: ghosts, werewolves, spiritualism, animism, and of course, witchcraft. These traditional religious beliefs and practices are frequently treated as marginal in more synthetic studies of witchcraft and popular religion, yet Protestants and Catholics alike saw ghosts, imps, werewolves, and other supernatural entities as populating their world. Embedded within notarial and trial records are accounts that reveal the integration of folkloric and theological elements in early modern spirituality. Drawing from extensive archival research, the contributors argue for the integration of such beliefs into our understanding of late medieval and early modern Europe.