Knowledge

The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe

Source 📝

385:, a rejection shared both by imperial Rome and by many of its most powerful medieval heirs; and then, and centrally, a complex second one of the second thoughts of some of Rome's early medieval successors. These second thoughts led, I shall attempt here to prove, not merely to the halting of the process of rejection and to the tolerance of certain "magical" survivals, but to the active rescue, preservation, and encouragement of very many of these last; and for all the furtherance of the relationship between people and the supernatural that, it was fervently believed, would improve human life." 396:
notes that in the book she plans to explore "emotional history", namely the reasons why many medieval Europeans felt an emotional need for magic in their lives. Discussing the relationship between magic and science, and then magic and religion, Flint notes that much of what she discusses in the book deals with the attitude taken towards different kinds of magic by the Christian Church. Concluding this introductory chapter, she describes the nature of the historical record from this period, and the multiple problems that historians face in understanding it.
541: 501: 461: 161: 66: 25: 435:
carried "a very heavy freight of condemnation." Moving on to a discussion of "hope", Flint discusses more positive descriptions of magic in the ancient world, noting the reverence for certain forms of divination in Roman literature and law, and the positive descriptions of certain magical acts in the
395:
Chapter one, "The Scope of the Study", begins by exploring what magic is and what it meant to Early Medieval society. For the purpose of her study, Flint defines "magic" as "the exercise of preternatural control over nature by human beings, with the assistance of forces more powerful than they." She
358:
Flint's main argument is that while some major governments in early medieval Europe, influenced by the example set by the former Roman Empire, tried to suppress the practice of magic, eventually it experienced a revival and came to flourish, encouraged by a new belief that it could be beneficial for
251: 362:
Divided into four parts, in the book's introductory section, Flint discusses the source material that she is drawing from, and offers an overview of the view of magic that medieval society inherited from both the Classical world and the Judeo-Christian tradition.
399:
In the second chapter, entitled "The Legacy of Attitudes", Flint discusses the two primary attitudes taken toward magic in Early Medieval Europe: alarm and hope. Looking at the alarm caused by magic, she discusses the work of classical authors like
416:
portrayed magic as a dangerous and malevolent art. Flint also highlights the manner in which Judeo-Christian tradition condemned the practice of magic, both in the Bible and in un-canonical literature such as the
444:. She proceeds to look at the few positive descriptions of astrology in the Judeo-Christian literature of the period, and the Judeo-Christian emphasis on prophecy, particularly in the writings of 38: 423:, and in particular the laws that were enacted against astrologers by the Roman Senate. Ultimately, she notes that by the dawning of the Middle Ages, words like 194: 134: 106: 113: 44: 657: 120: 102: 662: 552: 512: 472: 76: 366:
Flint's book would come to be recognised as the most authoritative study of the subject of early medieval magic across Europe.
83: 171: 127: 230: 212: 52: 186: 87: 652: 180: 91: 352: 292: 190: 176: 348: 8: 408:, who denounced magicians and their crafts, as well as the manner in which poets such as 343:
in Europe between the 5th and 12th centuries CE. It was written by the English historian
340: 441: 445: 401: 646: 419: 344: 264: 540: 500: 460: 325: 321: 160: 65: 405: 250: 409: 413: 381:" is about a double process. One, firstly, of a rejection of 437: 451: 491: 644: 448:, which bore many similarities with divination. 175:, potentially preventing the article from being 103:"The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe" 92:introducing citations to additional sources 244:The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe 53:Learn how and when to remove these messages 336:The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe 249: 195:reliable, independent, third-party sources 231:Learn how and when to remove this message 213:Learn how and when to remove this message 189:by replacing them with more appropriate 82:Relevant discussion may be found on the 374: 172:too closely associated with the subject 645: 531: 658:Academic studies of ritual and magic 535: 495: 455: 255:The first edition cover of the book. 154: 59: 18: 13: 14: 674: 452:Part II: The Magic of the Heavens 34:This article has multiple issues. 539: 499: 492:Part III: The Magic of the Earth 459: 170:may rely excessively on sources 159: 75:relies largely or entirely on a 64: 23: 633: 42:or discuss these issues on the 16:1991 book by Valerie I.J. Flint 663:History books about witchcraft 618: 606: 594: 582: 1: 571: 576: 7: 369: 10: 679: 624: 612: 600: 588: 353:Princeton University Press 293:Princeton University Press 639:Academic books and papers 390:Valerie I.J. Flint, 1991. 339:is a historical study of 316: 308: 298: 288: 278: 270: 260: 248: 653:1991 non-fiction books 387: 349:University of Auckland 284:Early Medieval History 379: 375:Part I: Introduction 88:improve this article 351:, and published by 245: 627:. pp. 22–35. 551:. You can help by 532:Part IV: The Magus 511:. You can help by 471:. You can help by 345:Valerie I.J. Flint 243: 615:. pp. 13–21 569: 568: 529: 528: 489: 488: 332: 331: 309:Publication place 282:History of Magic, 241: 240: 233: 223: 222: 215: 153: 152: 138: 57: 670: 628: 622: 616: 610: 604: 603:. pp. 3–12 598: 592: 586: 564: 561: 543: 536: 524: 521: 503: 496: 484: 481: 463: 456: 440:and accounts of 391: 300:Publication date 253: 246: 242: 236: 229: 218: 211: 207: 204: 198: 163: 155: 148: 145: 139: 137: 96: 68: 60: 49: 27: 26: 19: 678: 677: 673: 672: 671: 669: 668: 667: 643: 642: 636: 631: 623: 619: 611: 607: 599: 595: 587: 583: 579: 574: 565: 559: 556: 549:needs expansion 534: 525: 519: 516: 509:needs expansion 494: 485: 479: 476: 469:needs expansion 454: 446:Saint Augustine 402:Pliny the Elder 393: 389: 377: 372: 341:magical beliefs 317:Media type 301: 283: 256: 237: 226: 225: 224: 219: 208: 202: 199: 184: 164: 149: 143: 140: 97: 95: 81: 69: 28: 24: 17: 12: 11: 5: 676: 666: 665: 660: 655: 641: 640: 635: 632: 630: 629: 617: 605: 593: 580: 578: 575: 573: 570: 567: 566: 546: 544: 533: 530: 527: 526: 506: 504: 493: 490: 487: 486: 466: 464: 453: 450: 378: 376: 373: 371: 368: 347:, then of the 330: 329: 318: 314: 313: 312:United Kingdom 310: 306: 305: 302: 299: 296: 295: 290: 286: 285: 280: 276: 275: 272: 268: 267: 262: 258: 257: 254: 239: 238: 221: 220: 167: 165: 158: 151: 150: 86:. Please help 72: 70: 63: 58: 32: 31: 29: 22: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 675: 664: 661: 659: 656: 654: 651: 650: 648: 638: 637: 626: 621: 614: 609: 602: 597: 590: 585: 581: 563: 554: 550: 547:This section 545: 542: 538: 537: 523: 514: 510: 507:This section 505: 502: 498: 497: 483: 474: 470: 467:This section 465: 462: 458: 457: 449: 447: 443: 439: 434: 430: 426: 422: 421: 420:Book of Enoch 415: 411: 407: 403: 397: 392: 386: 384: 367: 364: 360: 356: 354: 350: 346: 342: 338: 337: 327: 323: 319: 315: 311: 307: 303: 297: 294: 291: 287: 281: 277: 273: 269: 266: 265:Valerie Flint 263: 259: 252: 247: 235: 232: 217: 214: 206: 196: 192: 188: 182: 178: 174: 173: 168:This article 166: 162: 157: 156: 147: 136: 133: 129: 126: 122: 119: 115: 112: 108: 105: –  104: 100: 99:Find sources: 93: 89: 85: 79: 78: 77:single source 73:This article 71: 67: 62: 61: 56: 54: 47: 46: 41: 40: 35: 30: 21: 20: 634:Bibliography 620: 608: 596: 584: 557: 553:adding to it 548: 517: 513:adding to it 508: 477: 473:adding to it 468: 432: 428: 424: 418: 398: 394: 388: 382: 380: 365: 361: 357: 335: 334: 333: 227: 209: 200: 185:Please help 169: 141: 131: 124: 117: 110: 98: 74: 50: 43: 37: 36:Please help 33: 647:Categories 625:Flint 1991 613:Flint 1991 601:Flint 1991 589:Flint 1991 572:References 560:April 2012 520:April 2012 480:April 2012 436:poetry of 433:maleficium 359:humanity. 203:March 2014 187:improve it 177:verifiable 144:March 2014 114:newspapers 39:improve it 577:Footnotes 355:in 1991. 326:Paperback 322:Hardcover 289:Publisher 191:citations 84:talk page 45:talk page 406:Apuleius 370:Synopsis 271:Language 591:. p. 4. 320:Print ( 279:Subject 274:English 181:neutral 128:scholar 410:Virgil 324:& 261:Author 130:  123:  116:  109:  101:  429:magus 425:magia 414:Lucan 383:magia 135:JSTOR 121:books 442:Cato 438:Ovid 431:and 412:and 404:and 304:1991 179:and 107:news 555:. 515:. 475:. 193:to 90:by 649:: 427:, 48:. 562:) 558:( 522:) 518:( 482:) 478:( 328:) 234:) 228:( 216:) 210:( 205:) 201:( 197:. 183:. 146:) 142:( 132:· 125:· 118:· 111:· 94:. 80:. 55:) 51:(

Index

improve it
talk page
Learn how and when to remove these messages

single source
talk page
improve this article
introducing citations to additional sources
"The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe"
news
newspapers
books
scholar
JSTOR

too closely associated with the subject
verifiable
neutral
improve it
citations
reliable, independent, third-party sources
Learn how and when to remove this message
Learn how and when to remove this message

Valerie Flint
Princeton University Press
Hardcover
Paperback
magical beliefs
Valerie I.J. Flint

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.