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WITCHCRAFT AND THE WESTERN IMAGINATION1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2006

Lyndal Roper
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Abstract

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This essay proposes a new view of demonology, arguing that it was not just a set of theological and legal writings but could also form part of a literature of entertainment. Demonologists frequently used literary techniques such as the dialogue form, hyperbolic set-piece descriptions of the dance or the Sabbath, told stories to pique the reader's interest, and employed humour, salaciousness and horror. Their work intersected with that of artists, influenced by classical images of witches, who began to produce elaborate panoramas of the Sabbath. The cultural legacy of demonology was immense. Through theFaustbuchof 1587, which borrowed from demonological treatises, demonology influenced drama and even figured in the development of the early novel.

Type
Research Article
Information
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , Volume 16 , December 2006 , pp. 117 - 141
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Historical Society2006

References

1 This essay is dedicated to the memory of Gareth Roberts. I am grateful to Robin Briggs, Stuart Clark, Jonathan Durrant, Ruth Harris, Clive Holmes, Erik Midelfort, David Parrott, Amy Wygant, the various audiences who heard and commented on earlier drafts, and especially to Nick Stargardt for their help in writing this essay.