Experiences of magic and witchcraft in the early modern period have often been presented as extraordinary occurrences, when they were, from the perspective of people living during this period, part of a shared and very familiar cosmological outlook. By presenting a wide range of everyday supernatural experiences, from spirit-assisted treasure hunting to magically-assisted recipes, this book will show the extent to which such incidents and the beliefs underlying them have common frames of reference and were accepted as legitimate, if unusual, occurrences or practices. Particularly important in this context is the integration of witchcraft. As the authors in this collection argue, witchcraft was more pervasive and often less threatening than many modern interpretations suggest. Magic was both mundane and mysterious in early modern Europe, and the witches who practiced it could be in many ways quite ordinary members of their communities. The vivid cases described in this volume should make the reader question how to distinguish the ordinary and extraordinary in the early modern experience and the extent to which those terms need to be redefined for an early modern context.
Everyday Magic in Early Modern Europe