Witches of the Atlantic world : a historical reader & primary sourcebook / edited by Elaine G. Breslaw.
Breslaw, Elaine G., 1932-
2000
BF1566 .W755 2000 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection

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Title Witches of the Atlantic world : a historical reader & primary sourcebook / edited by Elaine G. Breslaw.
ISBN 9780814798515 paperback alkaline paper
0814798519 paperback alkaline paper
9780814798508 hardcover alkaline paper
0814798500 hardcover alkaline paper
Imprint New York : New York University Press, ©2000.
Language English
Description xiv, 550 pages ; 26 cm
Call Number BF1566 .W755 2000
Dewey Decimal Classification 133.4/3/09
Summary "This unique anthology is the first to provide a multicultural perspective on witchcraft from the 15th to 18th century. Featuring primary documents as well as scholarly interpretations, Witches of the Atlantic World builds upon information regarding both Christian and non-Christian beliefs about possession and the demonic. Elaine G. Breslaw draws on Native American, African, South American, and African-American sources, as well as the European and New England heritage, to illuminate the ways in which witchcraft in early America was an attempt to understand and control evil and misfortune in the New World. Organized into sections on folklore and magic, diabolical possession, Christian perspectives, and the question of gender, the volume includes selections by Cotton Mather, Matthew Hopkins, and Samuel Willard, among others; Salem trial testimonies; and commentary by a host of distinguished scholars. Together the materials demonstrate how the Protestant and Catholic traditions shaped American concepts, and how multicultural aspects played a key role in the Salem experience. Witches of the Atlantic World sheds new light on one of the most perplexing aspects of American history and provides important background for the continued scholarly and popular interest in witches and witchcraft today"--Publisher description.
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references (pages 527-532) and indexes.
Added Author Breslaw, Elaine G., 1932-
Record Appears in On-Campus Resources > Books
All Resources
I. Christian Perspectives on Witchcraft in Europe and North America 13
1. Methods of the Devil / Heinrich Kramer, Jacob Sprenger 21
2. On Witchcraft / Reginald Scot 28
3. Discovery of Witches: In Answer to Several Queries / Matthew Hopkins 37
4. On Witches and Witchcraft / Cotton Mather 42
5. Non-Existent Society of Witches / Norman Cohn 49
6. Relevance of Social Anthropology to the Historical Study of English Witchcraft / Keith Thomas 60
7. Scottish Witchcraft in Its Comparative Setting / Christina Larner 72
8. Witchcraft and Puritan Beliefs / Richard Weisman 77
9. A World of Wonders / David Hall 89
II. Non-Christian Beliefs 97
A. Europeans and North American Colonists
10. Night Battles / Carlo Ginzburg 107
11. Night-Witch in Popular Imagination / Norman Cohn 117
12. Image Magic and the Like / George Lyman Kittredge 126
13. Divining, Healing, and Destroying / Richard Godbeer 132
B. Africans
14. Activities of African Witches / Geoffrey Parrinder 145
15. Witchcraft among the Azande / E.E. Evans-Pritchard 153
C. African Americans
16. Magical Practices and Beliefs / Philip D. Morgan 169
17. Archaeological Evidence for a Possible Witch in Barbados, West Indies / Jerome Handler 176
18. An Afro-American Folk Religion / William D. Piersen 181
D. American Indians
19. Indian Response / Fernando Cervantes 189
20. Indian Shamans and English Witches / Alfred Cave 196
21. Pueblo Witchcraft / Marc Simmons 204
22. Medicine Man and the Kanaima / Walter E. Roth 213
23. Factions and Exclusions in Two South American Village Systems / Peter Riviere 221
III. Diabolical Possession 229
24. Possession of Elizabeth Knapp of Groton / Samuel Willard 235
25. Bewitchment of the Goodwin Children / Cotton Mather 246
26. Classic Accusers: The Possessed / Joseph Klaits 259
27. Possession and Dispossession / Keith Thomas 267
28. Witchcraft in New England / Chadwick Hansen 272
29. Witchcraft: The "Captivity to Spectres" / Richard Slotkin 277
IV. Gender 283
30. Why Women Are Chiefly Addicted to Evil Superstitions / Heinrich Kramer, Jacob Sprenger 289
31. Character of a Virtuous Woman / Cotton Mather 296
32. Two Sermons on Women and the Devil / Samuel Willard 300
33. Making of the Great Witch-Hunt / Norman Cohn 305
34. Myth of the Improved Status of Protestant Women: The Case of the Witchcraze / Allison P. Coudert 309
35. Devil, the Body, and the Feminine Soul in Puritan New England / Elizabeth Reis 322
36. Words, Witches, and Woman Trouble / Jane Kamensky 330
37. Economic Basis of Witchcraft / Carol F. Karlsen 337
38. Who Were the Witches? / Christina Larner 347
V. Salem: A Case Study of the Primary Documents 355
A. Legal Procedures
39. Conjuration and Witches / Michael Dalton 365
40. On the Identification of a Witch / William Perkins 369
B. Accused
41. Examination of Tituba 377
42. Examination of Rebecca Nurse 381
43. Examination of Bridget Bishop 385
44. Narrative of the Salem Events / Deodat Lawson 389
C. Accusers
45. Elizabeth Hubbard against Tituba 399
46. Abigail Williams against Tituba and Rebecca Nurse 400
47. Ann Putnam, Jr., against Rebecca Nurse 402
48. Deliverance Hobbs against Bridget Bishop 403
49. John Hale against Bridget Bishop 405
50. Advice of the Clergy 407
D. Doubters
51. A Multitude of Errors / Thomas Brattle 411
52. Apology of the Jury 420
53. That Sad Catastrophe / John Hale 422
VI. Historians' Commentaries on the Salem Case 427
54. Witchcraft at Salem Village / Charles Upham 430
55. Witchcraft, the Courts, and Countermagic / Richard Godbeer 437
56. Tituba's Confession: The Multicultural2 Dimensions of the 1692 Salem Witch-Hunt / Elaine G. Breslaw 444
57. Through the Clouds / Larry Gragg 454
VII. Medical and Psychological Interpretations 465
58. Ergot and the Salem Witchcraft Affair / Mary K. Matossian 467
59. Ergot, Demonic Possession, and Hallucinogenic Drugs / H. Sidky 472
60. Underlying Themes in the Witchcraft of Seventeenth-Century New England / John Demos 480
VIII. Salem Legacy 489
61. An Act against Conjuration, Witchcraft and Dealing with Evil and / Wicked Spirits 495
62. Altered Lives / Elaine G. Breslaw 499
63. 1692: Some New Perspectives / Paul Boyer, Stephen Nissenbaum 507
64. Invisible World at the Vanishing Point / Richard Weisman 512
65. Magic, Astrology, and the Early American Religious Heritage, 1600-1760 / Jon Butler 516.

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