The Witch-Cult in Western Europe

The Witch-Cult in Western Europe PDF Author: Margaret Murray
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781540358806
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 460

Get Book Here

Book Description
An intensive study of the medieval witch-cults which the author identifies as the ancient pre-Christian religion of Western Europe. "There is no task for the historian so difficult as really to rethink the thoughts of the past, especially when these thoughts assume a form which modern knowledge discredits. Few, indeed, are the historians capable of such a task, and among these few we certainly place Miss Murray. It is true that her book is a monument of compressed information, sound scholarship, and solid learning. It is more than this. She never loses herself in details, nor forgets in following out its ramifications the main object of her work. There is nothing of the kind, so far as we know, in English on the study of the ideas of the distant past; and the work has been so thoroughly carried out that it is not likely to be superseded. It is, indeed, pleasant to meet with a piece of work so comprehensive in scope, and so rich and varied in its treatment of the subject of witch-cult in western Europe and notably in England." -The English Historical Review "Miss Murray has presented a survey of the belief in witchcraft as it developed on the continent and in England during the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. She has treated the subject in an entirely novel fashion, for while the consensus of opinion among modern scientists, such as Alfred Lehman and William Sumner, has been to consider the belief in witchcraft as due to hysteria and suggestion, Miss Murray considers the witches to have been members of a secret religious cult, organized in opposition to Christianity." -American Anthropologist "In order to clear the ground I make a sharp distinction between Operative Witchcraft and Ritual Witchcraft. Under Operative Witchcraft I class all charms and spells, whether used by a professed witch or by a professed Christian, whether intended for good or for evil, for killing or for curing. Such charms and spells are common to every nation and country, and are practiced by the priests and people of every religion. They are part of the common heritage of the human race and are therefore of no practical value in the study of any one particular cult." CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION I. CONTINUITY OF THE RELIGION II. THE GOD 1. As God 2. As a Human Being 3. Identification 4. As an Animal III. ADMISSION CEREMONIES 1. General 2. The Introduction 3. The Renunciation and Vows 4. The Covenant 5. The Baptism 6. The Mark IV. THE ASSEMBLIES 1. The Sabbath. Method of going. The site. The date. The hour 2. The Esbat. Business. The site. The time V. THE RITES 1. General 2. Homage 3. The Dances 4. The Music 5. The Feast 6. Candles 7. The Sacrament 8. Sacrifices: Of animals. Of children. Of the God 9. Magic Words VI. THE RITES, continued 1. General 2. Rain-making 3. Fertility VII. THE ORGANIZATION 1. The Officer 2. The Covens 3. Duties 4. Discipline VIII. THE FAMILIARS AND TRANSFORMATIONS 1. The Divining Familiar 2. The Domestic Familiar 3. Methods of obtaining Familiars 4. Transformations into Animals APPENDIX I. Fairies and Witches APPENDIX II. Trial of Silvain Nevillon. Taken from De Lancre's L'Incredulit� et M�scr�ance APPENDIX III. A. Covens and Names of Members B. Index of Witches' Names, with Notes APPENDIX IV. Notes on the Trials of Joan of Arc and Gilles de Rais APPENDIX V. Some Notes on 'Flying' Ointments. By Prof. A. J. Clark BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Witch-Cult in Western Europe

The Witch-Cult in Western Europe PDF Author: Margaret Murray
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781540358806
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 460

Get Book Here

Book Description
An intensive study of the medieval witch-cults which the author identifies as the ancient pre-Christian religion of Western Europe. "There is no task for the historian so difficult as really to rethink the thoughts of the past, especially when these thoughts assume a form which modern knowledge discredits. Few, indeed, are the historians capable of such a task, and among these few we certainly place Miss Murray. It is true that her book is a monument of compressed information, sound scholarship, and solid learning. It is more than this. She never loses herself in details, nor forgets in following out its ramifications the main object of her work. There is nothing of the kind, so far as we know, in English on the study of the ideas of the distant past; and the work has been so thoroughly carried out that it is not likely to be superseded. It is, indeed, pleasant to meet with a piece of work so comprehensive in scope, and so rich and varied in its treatment of the subject of witch-cult in western Europe and notably in England." -The English Historical Review "Miss Murray has presented a survey of the belief in witchcraft as it developed on the continent and in England during the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. She has treated the subject in an entirely novel fashion, for while the consensus of opinion among modern scientists, such as Alfred Lehman and William Sumner, has been to consider the belief in witchcraft as due to hysteria and suggestion, Miss Murray considers the witches to have been members of a secret religious cult, organized in opposition to Christianity." -American Anthropologist "In order to clear the ground I make a sharp distinction between Operative Witchcraft and Ritual Witchcraft. Under Operative Witchcraft I class all charms and spells, whether used by a professed witch or by a professed Christian, whether intended for good or for evil, for killing or for curing. Such charms and spells are common to every nation and country, and are practiced by the priests and people of every religion. They are part of the common heritage of the human race and are therefore of no practical value in the study of any one particular cult." CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION I. CONTINUITY OF THE RELIGION II. THE GOD 1. As God 2. As a Human Being 3. Identification 4. As an Animal III. ADMISSION CEREMONIES 1. General 2. The Introduction 3. The Renunciation and Vows 4. The Covenant 5. The Baptism 6. The Mark IV. THE ASSEMBLIES 1. The Sabbath. Method of going. The site. The date. The hour 2. The Esbat. Business. The site. The time V. THE RITES 1. General 2. Homage 3. The Dances 4. The Music 5. The Feast 6. Candles 7. The Sacrament 8. Sacrifices: Of animals. Of children. Of the God 9. Magic Words VI. THE RITES, continued 1. General 2. Rain-making 3. Fertility VII. THE ORGANIZATION 1. The Officer 2. The Covens 3. Duties 4. Discipline VIII. THE FAMILIARS AND TRANSFORMATIONS 1. The Divining Familiar 2. The Domestic Familiar 3. Methods of obtaining Familiars 4. Transformations into Animals APPENDIX I. Fairies and Witches APPENDIX II. Trial of Silvain Nevillon. Taken from De Lancre's L'Incredulit� et M�scr�ance APPENDIX III. A. Covens and Names of Members B. Index of Witches' Names, with Notes APPENDIX IV. Notes on the Trials of Joan of Arc and Gilles de Rais APPENDIX V. Some Notes on 'Flying' Ointments. By Prof. A. J. Clark BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Witch-cult in Western Europe

The Witch-cult in Western Europe PDF Author: Margaret Alice Murray
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Get Book Here

Book Description


Witch Cult in Western Europe

Witch Cult in Western Europe PDF Author: Margaret Alice Murray
Publisher: Literary Licensing, LLC
ISBN: 9781497914063
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
This Is A New Release Of The Original 1921 Edition.

The Witch Cult in Western Europe

The Witch Cult in Western Europe PDF Author: Margaret Alice Murray
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
ISBN: 9781489561879
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Get Book Here

Book Description
The subject of Witches and Witchcraft has always suffered from the biassed opinions of the commentators, both contemporary and of later date. On the one hand are the writers who, having heard the evidence at first hand, believe implicitly in the facts and place upon them the unwarranted construction that those facts were due to supernatural power; on the other hand are the writers who, taking the evidence on hearsay and disbelieving the conclusions drawn by their opponents, deny the facts in toto. Both parties believed with equal firmness in a personal Devil, and both supported their arguments with quotations from the Bible. But as the believers were able to bring forward more texts than the unbelievers and had in their hands an unanswerable argument in the Witch of Endor, the unbelievers, who dared not contradict the Word of God, were forced to fall back on the theory that the witches suffered from hallucination, hysteria, and, to use the modern word, 'auto-suggestion'. These two classes still persist, the sceptic predominating. Between the believer who believed everything and the unbeliever who disbelieved everything there has been no critical examination of the evidence, which presents a new and untouched field of research to the student of comparative religion.

The God of the Witches

The God of the Witches PDF Author: Margaret Alice Murray
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780195012705
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Get Book Here

Book Description
This celebrated study of witchcraft in Europe traces the worship of the pre-Christian and prehistoric Horned God from paleolithic times to the medieval period. Murray, the first to turn a scholarly eye on the mysteries of witchcraft, enables us to see its existence in the Middle Ages not as an isolated and terrifying phenomenon, but as the survival of a religion nearly as old as humankind itself, whose devotees held passionately to a view of life threatened by an alien creed. The findings she sets forth, once thought of as provocative and implausible, are now regarded as irrefutable by folklorists and scholars in related fields. Exploring the rites and ceremonies associated with witchcraft, Murray establishes the concept of the "dying god"--the priest-king who was ritually killed to ensure the country and its people a continuity of fertility and strength. In this light, she considers such figures as Thomas a Becket, Joan of Arc, and Gilles de Rais as spiritual leaders whose deaths were ritually imposed. Truly a classic work of anthropology, and written in a clear, accessible style that anyone can enjoy, The God of the Witches forces us to reevaluate our thoughts about an ancient and vital religion.

WITCH-CULT IN WESTERN EUROPE

WITCH-CULT IN WESTERN EUROPE PDF Author: MARGARET ALICE. MURRAY
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781033170700
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Witch-Cult in Western Europe a Study in Anthropology

The Witch-Cult in Western Europe a Study in Anthropology PDF Author: Murray Margaret Alice
Publisher: Hardpress Publishing
ISBN: 9781318855759
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 492

Get Book Here

Book Description
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

The Witch-cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology

The Witch-cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology PDF Author: Margaret Alice Murray
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is a study of witchcraft based on practices in England as the author says records and information were more readily accessible, while practices in much of Western Europe are similar. The book is detailed, giving information on all aspects of the cult, including rites of passage, ceremonies and so on.

The Witch-cult in Western Europe

The Witch-cult in Western Europe PDF Author: Margaret Alice Murray
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Witch-Cult in Western Europe

The Witch-Cult in Western Europe PDF Author: Margaret Alice Murray
Publisher: Forgotten Books
ISBN: 9781333490263
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 310

Get Book Here

Book Description
Excerpt from The Witch-Cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology It is interesting to note the class Of mind among those con temporary writers who believed in the reality of the facts confessed at the trials as compared with those who disbelieved. It will be seen that the most brilliant minds, the keenest intel lects, the greatest investigators, were among the believers: Bodin, Lord Bacon, Raleigh, Boyle, Cudworth, Selden, Henry More, Sir Thomas Browne, Matthew Hale, Sir George Mac kenzie, and many Others, most Of whom had heard the evidence at first hand. The sceptics were Weyer, pupil of the occultist Cornelius Agrippa; Reginald Scot, a Kentish Country squire. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.