HISTORY
Magic, Heresy and Witchcraft
AUTUMN HN114
Wednesday
Tutor: Gillian Kenny
This course will look at the development of ideas about magic, demonology, heresy and witchcraft initially from ancient times but concentrating on their development in the Middle Ages, particularly with regard to the witchcraft trials that affected Europe in the later medieval/early modern period. This is a multi-disciplinary course that will examine ancient rituals, religions, philosophies and writings and will use evidence from both written sources, folklore and artefacts.
Students will be given the opportunity to examine, assess and discuss the development of the witchcraft idea and the various moves to destroy it by the Catholic (and later Protestant) Churches in the 15th – 17th centuries in particular. The enormous social, political, cultural and economic effects of these developments on European history and the European psyche will be examined. This course will use original documents and eye-witness accounts to try to understand what life was like for accuser, accused and witnesses in one of the most devastating campaigns waged against ordinary people in the history of Europe. The course will include a trip to sites of interest in Dublin concerning the history of witchcraft in Ireland.
| BELFIELD | ||
| 10 Wednesdays | Sep 26, Oct 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, Nov 7, 14, 21, 28 | 7.30pm - 9.30pm |
| FEE €190 | Print Open Learning Application Form 2012.13 or ring (01) 716-7123 for Laser/credit card payment |
Tutor Details:
Gillian Kenny is a graduate of UCD and TCD where she completed her PhD in Medieval History. She is currently working on a comparative social history of Ireland, Wales and Scotland during the later medieval period.
Provisional list of key topics to be covered:
- The idea of magic and witchcraft
- Magic in the ancient world
- The birth and growth of Christianity and its impact on magical thinking and paganism
- Developments in the idea of heresy/witchcraft
- White vs Black Witchcraft
- Sorcerors and Necromancers
- The Witch Trials Begin: An Irish anomaly.
- The rise of belief in the Devil and his agents and the Malleus Maleficarum
- The Literature of the Inquisition and their victims
- The impact of the Reformation on the witch hunting frenzy
- The rise of the Witchfinders
- The effects of the Witch hunting frenzy across Europe
- Witch hunting in the New World
Who is the course for?
Anyone interested in the history of religion and its impact on the social history of Europe will be interested in this course. It will also be of interest to those curious about the medieval period in Europe in particular.
Reading List:
The following is a selection of recommended texts for those interested in reading further around the course content. We advise that you do not buy books in advance of the course as your tutor will discuss the list and suggest the most relevant reading for particular interests.
Alan C Kors and Edward Peters (eds.) Witchcraft in Europe, 1100-1700: a documentary history (London, 1973).
Anne Llewellyn Barstow, Witchcraze, A new history of the European witch hunts (San Francisco, 1995).
Brian P. Levack, The Witch hunt in early modern Europe (Penn, 1995)
Richard Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials:Their Foundations in Popular and Learned Culture, 1300-1500 (London, Berkeley, 1976).
Richard Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1989)
