The History of Witchcraft and Demonology (Dover Occult) - Softcover

Summers, Montague

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486460118 ISBN 13: 9780486460116

Publisher: Dover Publications, 2007

Synopsis

Vividly detailed and highly readable, this classic history of witchcraft and demonology provides a thorough exploration of sorcery, Satanism, and every variety of the black arts. Reflecting popular folklore and theological opinions of the late medieval and early Renaissance periods, this survey of necromancy traces witchcraft from ancient times to the twentieth century, describing the link between heresy and the occult. Threaded with dramatic accounts of witch trials and devil's pacts, this time-tested reference offers a compelling look at The Worship of the Witch, Demons and Familiars, the Sabbat, and Diabolic Possession and Modern Spiritism. It also offers fascinating insight into the role of the Witch in Dramatic Literature.
A prolific occult historian, Montague Summers wrote numerous books, and he edited and translated such important early demonology and witchcraft texts as the Malleus Maleficarum. An intriguing perspective on the development of the black arts and their heretical interpretations by society, church, and state, The History of Witchcraft and Demonology will capture the attention of the general reader as well as the occult enthusiast. Eight meticulously reproduced illustrations from the original publication are included in this unabridged edition.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

The Reverend Montague Summers was a Roman Catholic priest. However, his views on witchcraft and demonology differed considerably from those of Catholic encyclopedists and spokesmen of today. He is not ashamed of the greatest excesses committed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. On the contrary, he vigorously defends everything the Church ever did to extirpate witchcraft and heresy.

"The History of Witchcraft" is one of the classic works on witchcraft and demonology. Unlike other writers on the subject, Dr. Summers firmly believed in the concept world of Satanism and described its nefarious nature with tremendous gusto.

This book was written from what critics have called a medieval viewpoint, an absolute and complete belief in witchcraft and, hence, in the supernatural. Among the subjects covered by Dr. Summers are: The Witch; Heretic and Anarchist; Demons and Familiars; the Sabbat; the Witch in Holy Writ; Diabolic Possession and Modern Spiritism; and the Witch in Dramatic Literature.

About the Author:

Montague Summers (1880–1948) wrote numerous books on witches, vampires, and werewolves from a true believer's point of view. He also edited and translated several important early texts on demonology and witchcraft.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0486460118
• ISBN 13: 9780486460116
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384