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Magic is ubiquitous across the world and throughout history. Yet if witchcraft is acknowledged as a persistent presence in the medieval and early modern eras, practical magic by contrast – performed to a useful end for payment, and actually more common than malign spellcasting – has been overlooked. Exploring many hundred instances of daily magical usage, and setting these alongside a range of imaginative and didactic literatures, Tabitha Stanmore demonstrates the entrenched nature of 'service' magic in premodern English society. This, she shows, was a type of spellcraft for needs that nothing else could address: one well established by the time of the infamous witch trials. The book explores perceptions of magical practitioners by clients and neighbours, and the way such magic was utilised by everyone: from lowliest labourer to highest lord. Stanmore reveals that – even if technically illicit – magic was for most people an accepted, even welcome, aspect of everyday life.
‘This is an innovatively conceived, well researched, and engagingly written book. It marks an extremely important intervention in the field of magic studies and presents not just a remarkable set of conclusions but also a compelling model for others to follow.’
Michael D. Bailey - Professor of History, Iowa State University
‘The attention paid by the author to both magicians and clients is a strength of this volume. Her detailed discussion of popular practices – such as the use of clay balls, and of sieves balanced on shears – is very engaging.’
Anne Lawrence-Mathers - Professor of History, University of Reading
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