Witch Hunters

by P.G. Maxwell-Stuart

This book examines the lives and careers of possibly the most sadistic group of people of the 16th and 17th centuries, the “great age” of witch-hunting in Europe and North America. From the doyen of witch-hunters, the Jesuit del Rio, to the British Matthew Hopkins, not to mention Pierre de Lancre, a judge who was responsible for burning 600 women, P.G.Maxwell-Stuart charts the progress of these fierce and dangerous zealots, while providing an insight into the world they perceived as evil and which they sought to destroy.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Research

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Peter G. Maxwell-Stuart is a Research Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Aberdeen and an Honorary Lecturer in the Department of History in the University of St. Andrews.

Source: Macmillan

Reviews

[Äsruþr Cyneaþsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched, as always from Maxwell-Stuart, and unafraid to dispell many of the false perceptions of the wider witch-hunt which spanned some 300 years. An invaluable resource for any studying the witch-hunts and their impacts.

[Colleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

"...The subject of witches and witchcraft in history is something in which I have always been vastly interested, so when I saw this book at a local second-hand shop, I snatched it up. Maxwell-Stuart is a history professor, and I've no doubt that if this is the topic of courses he teaches, I'd want to sit in on his lectures, probably. That is, unless he is one of those professors who assigns books that he's written for the required reading, because I had a hell of a time making it through this one...

...What I had hoped for was more information about the practices mentioned and the witch-hunting professions in general. When I realized it was actually more a series of mini-biographies with a bit of background information on specific cases thrown in, I could have been okay with that, except that Maxwell-Stuart's writing was much too dry to keep my attention for long...

...for the most part, I got pretty bored. I wouldn't recommend this for leisure reading, but it would certainly be an excellent resource if you're a student or professional who is doing research on this subject."

For full review, please visit me at Here Be Bookwyrms on Blogger:

http://herebebookwyrms.blogspot.com/2...

[Nimue Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A far more interesting and less gory book than I had feared (it was given to me, I did not pick it!) It’s a slim volume and not a detailed analysis of all witch-hunting, more a series of vignettes exploring some of the work of some influential witch-hunters. It doesn’t get into Matthew Hopkins, Salem, or any of the more famous incidents in great detail, which is in many ways a strength.

What I most liked about the book was the willingness to try and engage with mediaeval thinking on its own terms, rather than pasting modern sensibilities onto the past. The author makes the good point that if we do not undertake to understand the worldview held by those who tried witches, then we can only see the process through the narrow lens of our own assumptions and values. It is a book that raises some interesting ideas and asks far more questions than it answers.

If you’re looking for something that does not a)suggest all witches were really evil b)offer simple narratives of patriarchal oppression c)write off our ancestors as mad and deluded d) give tidy answers, this is well worth your time. Not a bad place to start on the subject, but by no means definitive of it.

[Felicity Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unlike many of the other books I've come across on this subject this concentrates not on Salem (though there is mention of it) so much as on incidents from across England and Scotland with a smattering from Europe.

Introducing six infamous individuals (Martin Del Rio, Pierre de Lancre, Battista Codronchi, Patrick Morton, John Kincaid and Elizabeth Jameson), chapter by chapter, individual by individual, the author touches on various topics including 'the problems of demonic possession' and 'implicating one's neighbours'.

What is essentially an interesting book. I may well have even rated it as more than OK if it wasn't for the fact that alas I found the writing stilted; as if, well, as if written for one of his lectures (the author is a history professor with what I believe is a special interest in this subject) which, don't get me wrong, delivered as a lecture (with perhaps some slides and maybe some 'audience' interaction), I think I'd have found it fascinating but, as it was, I found reading it a bit of a chore.

Copyright ... Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper