Item specifics
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Condition
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Release Year
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1997
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ISBN
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9780195213607
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Book Title
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Religion and the Decline of Magic : Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England
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Publisher
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Oxford University Press, Incorporated
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Item Length
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9.2 in
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Publication Year
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1997
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Format
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Trade Paperback
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Language
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English
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Item Height
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1.6 in
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Genre
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Religion, Body, Mind & Spirit, Social Science, History
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Topic
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Europe / Great Britain / Stuart Era (1603-1714), Europe / Great Britain / Tudor & Elizabethan Era (1485-1603), Europe / Great Britain / General, History, Customs & Traditions, Cults, Occultism, Modern / 17th Century
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Item Weight
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36.9 Oz
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Item Width
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6.6 in
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Number of Pages
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736 Pages
Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth a…
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Oxford University Press, Incorporated
ISBN-10
0195213602
ISBN-13
9780195213607
eBay Product ID (ePID)
1199323
Product Key Features
Book Title
Religion and the Decline of Magic : Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England
Number of Pages
736 Pages
Language
English
Topic
Europe / Great Britain / Stuart Era (1603-1714), Europe / Great Britain / Tudor & Elizabethan Era (1485-1603), Europe / Great Britain / General, History, Customs & Traditions, Cults, Occultism, Modern / 17th Century
Publication Year
1997
Genre
Religion, Body, Mind & Spirit, Social Science, History
Format
Trade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height
1.6 in
Item Weight
36.9 Oz
Item Length
9.2 in
Item Width
6.6 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
97-002365
Dewey Edition
21
Reviews
“One of the three or four outstanding pieces of historical writing to have appeared in the last thirty years.”–Paul Slack, History Today”Thomas’s book, so formidable in its scope and so brilliant in its insights, is a major historical achievement as a result of which the period will never look quite the same again.”–Economic History Review, “One of the three or four outstanding pieces of historical writing to have appeared in the last thirty years.”–Paul Slack, History Today “Thomas’s book, so formidable in its scope and so brilliant in its insights, is a major historical achievement as a result of which the period will never look quite the same again.”–Economic History Review, “One of the three or four outstanding pieces of historical writing to have appeared in the last thirty years.”–Paul Slack, History Today “Thomas’s book, so formidable in its scope and so brilliant in its insights, is a major historical achievement as a result of which the period will never look quite the same again.”– Economic History Review, “One of the three or four outstanding pieces of historical writing to have appeared in the last thirty years.”–Paul Slack,History Today “Thomas’s book, so formidable in its scope and so brilliant in its insights, is a major historical achievement as a result of which the period will never look quite the same again.”–Economic History Review
Dewey Decimal
133/.0942/09031
Synopsis
Astrology, witchcraft, magical healing, divination, ancient prophecies, ghosts, and fairies were taken very seriously by people at all social and economic levels in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. Helplessness in the face of disease and human disaster helped to perpetuate this belief in magic and the supernatural. As Keith Thomas shows, England during these years resembled in many ways today’s “underdeveloped areas.” The English population was exceedingly liable to pain, sickness, and premature death; many were illiterate; epidemics such as the bubonic plague plowed through English towns, at times cutting the number of London’s inhabitants by a sixth; fire was a constant threat; the food supply was precarious; and for most diseases there was no effective medical remedy. In this fascinating and detailed book, Keith Thomas shows how magic, like the medieval Church, offered an explanation for misfortune and a means of redress in times of adversity. The supernatural thus had its own practical utility in daily life. Some forms of magic were challenged by the Protestant Reformation, but only with the increased search for scientific explanation of the universe did the English people begin to abandon their recourse to the supernatural. Science and technology have made us less vulnerable to some of the hazards which confronted the people of the past. Yet Religion and the Decline of Magic concludes that “if magic is defined as the employment of ineffective techniques to allay anxiety when effective ones are not available, then we must recognize that no society will ever be free from it.”
LC Classification Number
BR377.T48 1997
Price : 41.85
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