The Devil's Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England - Hardcover

Godbeer, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521403294 ISBN 13: 9780521403290

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1992

Synopsis

The Devil's Dominion examines the use of folk magic by ordinary men and women in early New England. The book describes in vivid detail the magical techniques used by settlers and the assumptions which underlaid them. Godbeer argues that layfolk were generally far less consistent in their beliefs and actions than their ministers would have liked; even church members sometimes turned to magic. The Devil's Dominion reveals that the relationship between magical and religious belief was complex and ambivalent: some members of the community rejected magic altogether, but others did not. Godbeer argues that the controversy surrounding astrological prediction in early New England paralleled clerical condemnation of magical practice, and that the different perspectives on witchcraft engendered by magical tradition and Puritan doctrine often caused confusion and disagreement when New Englanders sought legal punishment of witches.

About this title

Review:

'Godbeer shows us that popular belief in magic underlay most accusations of witchcraft, even in the Salem epidemic, and he also shows that popular belief did not necessarily ascribe the efficacy of magic, and by consequence of witchcraft, to the devil.' Edmund S. Morgan, The New York Review of Books

'Godbeer gives a cogent analysis of the political and religious climate that led to the Salem outbreak, acknowledging other historians' extensive work in this area while presenting his own argument in the context of surviving folk practices.' Tides

Book Description:

A detailed look at the folk magic used by settlers in early New England.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0521403294
• ISBN 13: 9780521403290
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 265