Love Spells and Lost Treasure: Service Magic in England from the Later Middle Ages to the Early Modern Era

Description

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. 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