FOUR CENTURIES OF WITCH-BELIEFS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE GREAT REBELLION
Book Details + Condition: Methuen and Co. Ltd. (London). First Edition, 1947. Hardcover. 203 pages with Bibliography and Index. Author R. Trevor Davies presents an historical study of witchcraft in England, charting the rise, development, and decline of witchcraft accusations and punishments from the late Middle Ages through the seventeenth century. He presents the subject not merely as folklore, but as a critical political and social force, drawing from historical legal and socio-political analyses. Chapters include:
- The Growth of Witch-Mania in Europe At the End of the Middle Ages
- The Introduction of Continental Witch-Beliefs Into England
- The First Period of Witch-Scare: 1588-1618
- James I Reunification of His Belief in Witch-Craft
- The Attempts of James I and Charles I to Extinguish Witch-Mania (1618-1642)
- Indignation Aroused by the Protection of Witches
- Parliament and Witchcraft 1625-49
- The Second Period of the Great Witch Scare: 1642-9
- Oliver Cromwell and Witchcraft
- Conclusion
PROVENANCE: From the massive occult collection of Dr. Alan Gauld (1932–2024), distinguished British psychologist, parapsychologist, and historian of psychical research based at the University of Nottingham. His library included significant works on mediumship, hypnotism, and the founders of psychical research, often marked with his ownership inscriptions or ex libris labels. He authored many respected works, including The Founders of Psychical Research (1968), Mediumship and Survival (1982), and A History of Hypnotism (1992). Firm binding; minor shelf wear to boards; Gauld's ex libris and name to front endpapers (along with one more ex libris); interior is clean and free of markings. All books are carefully packed, and shipped in boxes.
