In the ancient Near East; the art of influencing the natural course of events by means of spells and other ritual forms was universal. The social and political role of magic is apparent; too; in the competition to achieve precedence over rival systems of ritual practice and belief. Within a region filled with petty kingdoms competing for power; the Jews of ancient Palestine maintained control over adherents by developing distinct ritual practices and condemning as heretical those of nearby cults. Texts from Mesopotamia reveal a striking number of incantations; rituals; and medical recipes against witchcraft; attesting to a profound fear of being bewitched. Magical rituals were also used to maintain harmony between the human and divine realms.The roots of European witchcraft and magic lie in Hebrew and other ancient Near Eastern cultures and in the Celtic; Nordic; and Germanic traditions of the continent. For two millennia; European folklore and ritual have been imbued with the belief in the supernatural; yielding a rich trove of histories and images.Witchcraft and Magic in Europe combines the traditional approaches of political; legal; and social historians with a critical synthesis of cultural anthropology; historical psychology; and gender studies. The series; complete in six volumes; provides a modern; scholarly survey of the supernatural beliefs of Europeans from ancient times to the present day. Each volume of this ambitious six-volume series contains the work of distinguished scholars chosen for their expertise in a particular era or region.
#1583955 in Books Stackpole Books 2008-08-21Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .50 x 6.00l; .80 #File Name: 0811735184248 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. More Territory to Cover...By CustomerThere is still more to be researched and written about the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. The east of the Susquehanna the documentation covers events well. But west of the Susquehanna; through the centre of the Commonwealth to the Juniata Valley accounts are spare; yet; there are accounts of a network that followed the Great Road from Chambersburg to the the Juniata Valley and the Pennsylvania Canal that allowed those escaping both slavery and oppression access to freedom. Even the assistance to Owen Brown; son of John Brown; after the Harpers' Ferry Raid up through the Shenandoah Valley's extreme northern extension to south central Pennsylvania. This work and that of Charles L. Blockson still have additional geography to include for the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. [George John Drobnock]0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An extremely useful resource with maps and descriptionsBy Jill SimAn extremely useful resource with maps and descriptions; examining specific regional routes of Pennsylvania Underground Railroad activity. Also includes short biographies of notable people along the way; often using letters written about and by the actors working within the system. Readers get a good grasp of the specific geographies involved; as well as a feel for mid-century period attitudes; and come to admire and marvel at the courage and selfless of the people who operated the "depots" and "stations" and who ran fugitives to freedom during dangerous times. A really stellar; beautifully-researched work; written in tight; clear; prose; that uncovers hidden histories and locations of remarkable people working together in the name of freedom.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Pennsylvania-philes will love it!By citoyenHaving just read a number of books pertaining to the issue of Slavery; the Underground Railroad; Lincoln; and the Civil War; I anticipated that this book would be rife with anecdotal stories of how African-Americans escaped the bonds of Slavery and successfully established new lives as free people. While there are occasional stories of that nature in this book; the book is more like an almanac of Underground Railroad actual routes in Pennsylvania; describing in detail the many "entrance" and "exit" routes to towns; sanctuaries; and Underground Railroad "stations". If the reader is a Pennsylvanian; intimately familiar with the "spider web" of roads and rivers located in that state; this is the book to read! As a non-Pennsylvanian who has only transited Pennsylvania on occasion; however; I've skipped over a great many of the technical descriptions in search of the desired human stories.
