Male Witches in Early Modern Europe

by Lara Apps, Andrew Colin Gow

This book critiques historians’ assumptions about witch-hunting as well as their explanations for this complex and perplexing phenomenon. It shows that large numbers of men were accused of witchcraft in their own right, in some regions, more men were accused than women. The authors insist on the centrality of gender, tradition, and ideas about witches in the construction of the witch as a dangerous figure. They challenge the marginalization of male witches by feminist and other historians.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Witchcraft, Witches, Academic

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 23, 2003

Reviews

[Lisa Naaraat · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*

[Luke Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.75 **

perhaps slightly disingenuous to mark this as read as i did not read chapters 2 and 3 (will hopefully get around to it once i finish the behemoth that is thinking with demons) but in the chapters that i did read (introduction & chs 1, 4, and 5) apps and gow delivered an excellent critique of the historiography that exists on witchcraft and on the somewhat shocking absence of male witches in academia - ultimately i agree that witch accusations in WESTERN europe (with normandy as an exception in france) were concentrated on women, but feminist approaches of the witch hunts have long needed some attempt to reconcile their argument of a gendered basis for the witch hunts with the male majorities among the accused in regions such as estonia, finland, russia, iceland and normandy, as well as the presence of male witches (if as a minority) in western regions & in demonology. their analysis of clark’s dual classification theory of witchcraft was rich and well-weighted as they highlighted its merits but also its failings and inability to allow for nuance, in which male witches COULD exist but often had to be necessarily feminised; still they could have launched a more detailed analysis of how to reconcile male witches with the inherent sexuality of demonology (i.e. demonic copulation, contemporary presentations of female nudity at the sabbaths such as baldung’s woodcuts, and the diabolic pact) and the heterosexual norm of typically female witches’ sexual relationship with a devil stylised as male. given that they highlighted the relative weakness of the sabbath in areas with male majorities of accused, i would have expected some more thoughtful analysis of how male witches fit into heteronormative demonology in areas where sabbaths (& in turn demonic copulation) DID form a major part of the trials and accusations, rather than the simple statement that “male witches were not homosexual” and unblinking dismissal of monter’s argument that by focusing less on the sabbath, authorities in normandy were (whether subconsciously or not) bypassing the need to explain homosexuality. generally also focused less on male witches in early modern europe - as the title suggests - and more on how historians have treated them. nonetheless a very well-researched and argued, and much needed, approach to the position of male witches in historiography; would be more appropriate however if they have established this as their premise.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

What this book is not, is a study of male witches per se in any substantive sense. Rather, Apps and Gow engage in an explicit and extended critique of the methodological double-standards and historiographic preconceptions which have allowed historians to discount historical examples of male witchcraft suspects and avoid addressing the question of how contemporaries accommodated them within the prevailing conceptual framework by which witchcraft was defined. The authors refute these prejudices within the scholarship and argue for the historical significance and conceptual coherence of male witches, adducing numerous case-studies and citations from influential demonological treatises as evidence. They conclude that these men may have been “...unusual within their specific contexts
because they were male witches; but as witches, they were not unusual”(p. 57); even in their tortured confessions, both men and women demonstrated similar coping tactics and moral-psychological preoccupations.

While many of the sources Apps and Gow refer to will be familiar to students of the history of witchcraft and magic (indeed, the critical nature of the authors' project makes this inevitable), their close readings and particular attention to the use of gendered pronouns in primary-source texts cast these works in a novel analytic light. Early-modern theorists did indeed gender the practice and characteristics of witchcraft as feminine, but this was a non-binary, conceptual feminization to which men who participated in such activities were implicitly susceptible.

[Rick Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an academic, scholarly examination of accused male witches in early Europe. The book explores the reasons why accused male witches were not given the same focus as accused female witches in previous studies. The book proves many of these reasons to be unfounded, as there were a large number of male witches, and in some places more male witches than female. The book provides many examples from witch trials and results from several studies.

[Flick · Rating 2 out of 5]

presents almost exhaustive evidence for the existence of male witches but doesnt really do anything with this information. would have preferred more on the gendering of witches than just "they were feminised," as well as more discussion on why the existence of male witches mattered and what it meant.

[Eduardo Armenta · Rating 3 out of 5]

From a not gender-centered way of life, the discussion sums up on understanding the century's common thinking of Gender as a factor that modifies the subject... new and not surprising: ignoring traditional male existence on witchcraft practices is another way of attacking women... witchcraft itself has their own take on Humanity and its relationship with gender

[Brianna McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible theory, limited original primary research.

[Amelia Thomas]

HATE HATE HATE BAD TAKES ALL AROUND

[Liam Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brings to light many gaps in our understanding of early modern beliefs about witchcraft as well as opens many paths for discussion and further research.

[saizine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good argument for while male witches should figure more in the scholarly study and historiography of early modern witchcraft, though only a decent beginning to the actual history of said male witches. I had hoped for a little less argument as to why we should study male witches and a little more study of male witches. Also, while I didn’t find the criticism of previous feminist histories of (female) witches as distasteful as other reviewers have (since the book does take a feminist approach to its subject, i.e. problematizing gender), it did feel like plenty of the page space taken up by refutation could have been used for more analysis. All that being said, Apps and Gow make several powerful points about the role of the historian and history-writing that I will certainly be keeping mind as I continue writing and framing my own work—namely, that “[h]istorians have great freedom in their interpretations because their subjects are dead. This ought to be regarded as a privilege, not as a right” and that “one wonders about the lenses through which modern scholars view the topic, and where the lenses originate.”

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐

This was a very interesting read. I feel like it was a bit repetitive in a few passages, but overall I am really glad I read it.
It not only shines a light on a subject that is heavily ignored, but it also makes an effort to critique those how have diminished the importance of male witches.
I am a firm believer that in order to fully understand historical events and processes it is needed to study all of its parts. Ignoring the presence of male witches, stating that it is unimaginable for people in the modern era to think of non-female witches, is absurd and damaging for the whole subject.
It's of course a quite general text on the subject but I feel like it does a great job, and it can be the starting point of many new researches.