Magic in Britain : a history of medieval and earlier practices /
Robin Melrose.
- v, 264 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 256-262) and index.
Human bones, amulets and animals : magic and ritual in Iron Age Britain -- Withcraft, curse tablets and fear of the restless dead : magic in Roman Britain -- Germanic paganism, magic and witchcraft in Anglo-Saxon England -- Paganism, Christianity and the cult of saints in early Northumbria -- Paganism and Christianity in early east Anglia and Mercia -- Paganism and Christianity in early kingdom of Wessex -- The kingdom of Wessex, the Vikings, and pagan amulets and Christianity in the Danelaw -- Saints and magic after the Norman conquest : Anglo-Saxon saints -- New English saints and monasteries, and late medieval ritual curses -- The saints of Wales and Scotland : holy islands, ritual curses and healing waters -- Pagan magic in late medieval Christianity -- Magic, cunning folk and witchcraft trials in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
"Magic, both benevolent and malign, has been practiced in the British Isles since at least the Iron Age. The Anglo-Saxons used ritual curses in documents, and wrote spells and charms. When they became Christians, the new "magicians" were saints, who performed miracles. The Church was able to quell the fear of magicians, but Reformation saw its revival"--