What did witchcraft and magic in Early Modern Europe really involve?  The Realities of Witchcraft and Popular Magic explores the elements of reality in early modern witchcraft and popular magic through a detailed study of actual cases and broad-ranging interdisciplinary investigations of psychological influences on health, subliminal communication, perception and cognition, and transcultural aspects of shamanism.  Assessing the results in light of research in other parts of Europe, it demonstrates that early modern fears of malefic magic reflected actual practices and potential harms, belief in the Devil not only contributed to but also reflected the perceptual and cognitive processes by which people construct their experience of reality, beneficent magic was both a pervasive and a potent element in early modern life, and the systematic repression of magic played a critical role in its eventual decline.  The book complements and challenges existing scholarship, offering unique insights into this murky aspect of the past.

 
Short listed for the Katharine Briggs Award 2009

Introduction
PART I: THE REALITY OF MALEFICIUM
The Varieties of Maleficium
Maleficium and Society
PART II: THE REALITIES OF DIABOLISM
The Devil in the Duchy of Württemberg
Witch Dances and Witch Salves
Sorcery, Satanism, and Shamanism
PART III: THE REALITIES OF BENEFICENT MAGIC
Divination and Prophesy
Benevolent Manipulative Magic
PART IV: REPRESSION AND REALITY
Magic in Society
Conclusion

EDWARD BEVER  received his Ph.D. in History from Princeton University in 1983, USA. He was a software developer specializing in historical simulations before taking his present position as Professor of History at SUNY Old Westbury in 1997. He has published a book on African history and a number of articles on witchcraft and magic in Early Modern Europe.