The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Routledge Library Editions: Witchcraft Ser.)

Synopsis

Based on research in the Inquisitorial archives of Northern Italy, The Night Battles recounts the story of a peasant fertility cult centered on the benandanti, literally, "good walkers." These men and women described fighting extraordinary ritual battles against witches and wizards in order to protect their harvests. While their bodies slept, the souls of the benandanti were able to fly into the night sky to engage in epic spiritual combat for the good of the village. Carlo Ginzburg looks at how the Inquisition's officers interpreted these tales to support their world view that the peasants were in fact practicing sorcery. The result of this cultural clash, which lasted for more than a century, was the slow metamorphosis of the benandanti into the Inquisition's mortal enemies—witches.Relying upon this exceptionally well-documented case study, Ginzburg argues that a similar transformation of attitudes—perceiving folk beliefs as diabolical witchcraft—took place all over Europe and spread to the New World. In his new preface, Ginzburg reflects on the interplay of chance and discovery, as well as on the relationship between anomalous cases and historical generalizations.

Copyright:

2013

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

240 Pages

ISBN-13:

9781421409931

Related ISBNs:

9781421409924

Publisher:

Johns Hopkins University Press

Date of Addition:

11/03/20

Copyrighted By:

Johns Hopkins University Press

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Health, Mind and Body, Language Arts

Grade Levels:

College Freshman, College Sophomore, College Junior, College Senior, Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.

Translator:

Anne C. Tedeschi

Translator:

John Tedeschi