Magic is ubiquitous across the world and throughout history. Yet if witchcraft is acknowledged as a persistent presence in the medieval and early modern eras, practical magic by contrast – performed to a useful end for payment, and actually more common than malign spellcasting – has been overlooked. Exploring many hundred instances of daily magical usage, and setting these alongside a range of imaginative and didactic literatures, Tabitha Stanmore demonstrates the entrenched nature of 'service' magic in premodern English society. This, she shows, was a type of spellcraft for needs that nothing else could address: one well established by the time of the infamous witch trials. The book explores perceptions of magical practitioners by clients and neighbours, and the way such magic was utilised by everyone: from lowliest labourer to highest lord. Stanmore reveals that – even if technically illicit – magic was for most people an accepted, even welcome, aspect of everyday life.
Author(s): Tabitha Stanmore
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 322
City: Cambridge
Cover
Reviews
Half-title page
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
What Is Magic?
Where and When
Questions
Sources
Structure
Part I Service Magic in Popular Society
Chapter 1 Practical Magic: Practices and Demands
Healing and Unwitching
Specific Diseases
Childbirth
Staunching Blood and Curing Toothache
Unwitching
Theft and Goods Recovery
Practices
Clay Balls
Sieve and Shears
Book and Key
Divination
Love Magic
Methods
Treasure Hunting
Conclusion
Chapter 2 Service Magicians
Demographics
Gender
Gender Division in Methods and Services
Healing
Discovery of Thieves and Lost Goods
Love
Treasure Hunting
Profession
Age
Economics
The Price of Magic
Determining Fees
A Livelihood?
Sales and Marketing
Westminster: A Case Study
Conclusion
Chapter 3 Magicians in Society
Judicial and Official Sources
Ecclesiastical Perspectives
Superstition and Irregular Belief
Secular Authorities
Social Outsiders?
London
Hiding but Not Hidden
Social Inclusion
Changing Perspectives
Conclusion
Chapter 4 Clients
Old, Female, and Foolish: Client Stereotypes
Didactic and Negative Portrayals
Imaginative Literature
Shrewd But Desperate: Records of Real Clients
Gender
Status
Caution and Redress
Conclusion
Part II Service Magic among the Social Elite
Chapter 5 Magic and the Elite
Context: Elite Magic before 1350 and Ecclesiastical Perspectives
Elite Uses for Magic
Political or Social Advancement
Love Magic
Gaining Favour
Assassination, Murder, and Sabotage
Divining the Monarch’s Future
Money
Treasure Hunting
Gambling
Practicalities
Divining One’s Own Future
Discovery of Thieves and Lost Goods
Healing
Conclusion
Chapter 6 Magic on Retainer
Profession
Relationships
Length and Terms of Employment
Protection
A Fur-Collar Crime? Monarchs’ Tolerance towards Magic
Murder and Sedition
Conclusion
Conclusion
Appendix
Bibliography
Manuscript Sources
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Index
