Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe

Demonology – the intellectual study of demons and their powers – contributed to the prosecution of thousands of witches. But how exactly did intellectual ideas relate to prosecutions? Recent scholarship has shown that some of the demonologists’ concerns remained at an abstract intellectual level, while some of the judges’ concerns reflected popular culture. This book brings demonology and witch-hunting back together, while placing both topics in their specific regional cultures.

The book’s chapters, each written by a leading scholar, cover most regions of Europe, from Scandinavia and Britain through to Germany, France and Switzerland, and Italy and Spain. By focusing on various intellectual levels of demonology, from sophisticated demonological thought to the development of specific demonological ideas and ideas within the witch trial environment, the book offers a thorough examination of the relationship between demonology and witch-hunting.

Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe is essential reading for all students and researchers of the history of demonology, witch-hunting and early modern Europe.

Julian Goodare is Professor of History, University of Edinburgh. His most recent book is The European Witch-Hunt (London: Routledge, 2016). His edited books include Scottish Witches and Witch-Hunters (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), and he is Director of the online Survey of Scottish Witchcraft.

Rita Voltmer is Senior Lecturer in Medieval and Early Modern History, University of Trier. Her most recent edited book is Herren und Hexen in der Nordeifel (Weilerswist, 2018). Her current projects are on the circulation of knowledge, the impact of Counter-Reformation, and criminal justice in medieval and early modern Europe.

Liv Helene Willumsen is Professor Emerita of History, University of Tromsø (UiT The Arctic University of Norway). Her books include Witches of the North: Scotland and Finnmark (Leiden, 2013). In 2019 she was awarded the Norwegian King’s Medal of Merit. She is currently researching transference of demonological ideas across Europe.