Witchcraft

by Pennethorne Hughes

In this work, professional historian and student of witchcraft, Pennethorne Hughes traces the origins and decline of witchcraft, delineating its various forms a dwindling remembrance of the first group religions of mankind, Christian parody, deliberate diabolism and cruel nonsense.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Witchcraft

236 pages, paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Quike D-B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un interesantísimo ensayo sobre la brujería desde el origen de los tiempos hasta "la actualidad" (está publicado en 1952, hay que entender eso como "actual"). Me gusta cómo aborda todo lo que cuenta con precisión científica y cientos de casos, fuentes y datos. Muy recomendable si te interesa el tema.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read many works on the historic aspect of the Salem witch trials and the many past lives of witchcraft in western civilization, I thought this book was quite good. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about witchcraft. I wish I read this before some other works. I still would have read the other works, but this would’ve provided a wonderful context from which to base my foundational knowledge. The author is very wordy, and one must remember it was written in the early 20th century. Equal time is given to individuals who both believed and disbelieved in witchcraft and its workings, and The author goes to great lengths to find the anthropological basis of witchcraft in the story of humanity. Devotees of modern witchcraft may take issue with the way the author defined early fertility symbols, group ritual borne of dance and Druid traditions, nature , etc. However I think Thorne uses evidence to bridge the gap quite well between the rituals of Paleolithic humanity and the perception of witchcraft (AKA the Old Religion, as he calls it, or The Old Traditions) by authorities.

[Carlos · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was all over the place. Hughes’ central premise is to link the witchcraft of the European and American witch “trials” to pre-historic fertility rites. Towards this end Hughes does make some interesting observations such as the preponderance of old (read pre-Christian) beliefs in remote areas of the more recently Christianized parts of Europe. However, Hughes also seems to want to use the descriptions given by “witches” (under torture!) during the trials to flesh out his argument. He dismisses the argument that anyone would say anything under torture by arguing that the descriptions of all these “witches” match. It was at this point that I started mentally giving up on the book. Hughes goes on to sketch an elaborate parallel religion with the Devil as its god (liberally sprinkling references to Greek and Egyptian mythologies), its hierarchy and its practices. All seemingly based on nothing else but the descriptions extracted under torture and superficial similarities to mythological tales. He is so committed to this idea that I was flabbergasted to seem him argue against the Church’s nullification of Joan of Arc’s witch trial and try to place her in the hierarchy of witches!

[Andrew Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book in the 1970s and decided to re-read it to see if it had become dated. Some of the ideas I found to be rather fanciful, but on the whole it is a scholarly work which treats the subject in a serious way and avoids the sensationalist ideas of witchcraft in modern society.

[Liam Porter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a good introduction to the topic. Very much a scholarly musing and not a history story.