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The Witch

A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present

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The Witch

By: Ronald Hutton
Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
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About this listen

Why have societies all across the world feared witchcraft? This book delves deeply into its context, beliefs, and origins in Europe's history.

The witch came to prominence - and often a painful death - in early modern Europe, yet her origins are much more geographically diverse and historically deep. In this landmark book, Ronald Hutton traces witchcraft from the ancient world to the early modern state. This book sets the notorious European witch trials in the widest and deepest possible perspective and traces the major historiographical developments of witchcraft. Hutton, a renowned expert on ancient, medieval, and modern paganism and witchcraft beliefs, combines Anglo-American and continental scholarly approaches to examine attitudes on witchcraft and the treatment of suspected witches across the world, including in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia, and North and South America, and from ancient pagan times to current interpretations. His fresh anthropological and ethnographical approach focuses on cultural inheritance and change while considering shamanism, folk religion, the range of witch trials, and how the fear of witchcraft might be eradicated.

©2017 Ronald Hutton (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Anthropology Customs & Traditions Europe Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts World Witchcraft Magic Users Ancient History

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Boring and not what it seemed

This book is so dry and touches on the most boring and useless parts of this dynamic and fascinating history. Even worse you can’t return it so please read this before buying it like I did and wasted my money. The book is like a light guide to things anyone who has the vaguest interest in the witch trials liked but only in very small areas and a very certain time. It’s just not worth the waste of money and time. The reader is not interesting and even as someone who is a history nerd he fills the stories with useless citations and explanations on why he uses certain words that aren’t needed. The book has no flow and is frankly annoying. I am so mad I gave this person money.

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