Magic and Witchcraft in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course examines the rise and decline of beliefs in magic and witchcraft - the supposed power of humans to intervene in natural events and to harm others by supernatural means - in medieval and early modern Europe, up to the outburst of the so-called "witch craze." It studies social, cultural, literary, judicial, religious, gender, economic, and environmental aspects of these beliefs, and their roots in such things as classic Greek and Roman literary traditions and popular folklore.