The Encyclopedia Of Witchcraft & Demonology Paperback – 12 Feb. 2015

I haven’t fully started reading it, but I have seen good reviews and look forward to using it in the near future.

If you have any serious interest in the history of witchcraft, then you will want to own this book. Professor Robbins consulted no less than 1140 sources (and they are listed and numbered in the ‘Select Bibliography’ at the end of his book), and condensed the information into this remarkable single-volume work of reference.I wholeheartedly approve of the way in which Professor Robbins approaches his subject. He recounts the facts about the witchcraft cases as they were originally recorded, often in considerable detail. He examines these original accounts critically, and exposes the fallacies and weaknesses inherent in them – for Professor Robbins does not consider that the evidence for any of the accounts of a society of witches who had entered into a pact with the Devil and who attended sabbats will stand up to scrutiny. I am pleased to say that he also cites the sources which he has used for each article in his encyclopaedia (although this sometimes does not work as well as might be expected, when the authority which he cites is a collection of documents and he does not specify exactly which document was the source of his information). While a substantial part of the book is devoted to articles about outbreaks of witchcraft, there are also articles about individuals who were prominent in the history of witchcraft and demonology (including those who were influential in developing the arguments for and against the existence of a society of Devil-worshipping witches) and articles about subjects such as the Black Mass, exorcism, familiars, the pact with the Devil, the sabbat, storm-raising and transvection.I should stress that Professor Robbins makes a strong distinction between witchcraft and sorcery. He uses the term ‘witchcraft’ to mean the imaginary cult of Devil-worshipping witches which was the object of the witch-hunting craze of the 16th and 17th Centuries. He uses the term ‘sorcery’ to mean “an attempt to control nature, to produce good or evil results, generally by the aid of evil spirits”. Now, the terminology employed in the study of the history of witchcraft is notoriously problematic, and you may not agree with Professor Robbins’s choice of words – but his distinction between the people who were labelled as Devil-worshippers by the witch-hunters and those who really believed that they were practitioners of magic (whether for good or for ill) is a valid one.Finally, there is the question of which edition of this wonderful book you should acquire. I have no personal experience of the Girard & Stewart edition but, having seen a review on the Amazon site which was highly critical of the print quality of that edition, I tracked down a second-hand copy of the 1959 Spring Books edition published by Hamlyn (Fifth impression, 1968). I am happy to say that the print quality of my copy is very good, even after so many years.

Excellent resource. The information in it is purely historical. It has plenty of illustrations. Somehow it doesn't read like an encyclopaedia. I read it from start to finish just as I would a book of short stories.

Excellent book. Very pleased with it.

As a history buff I found this to be a very interesting read,enjoying it.

Good

Brilliant

Full of historical information and illustrations. A very detailed book.I have read this many times throughout my life. A good resource

de muy buena calidad los materiales, y una lectura para entretenerse sin duda

I’m doing research for a novel I’m working on. As I’m writing my Novel I’m going through a history lesson I never thought I would embark on. It’s eye opening and I keep on wanting to learn more.I knew a little about witchcraft, Wicca, demonology & the occult. What I know, is nothing compared to what I’m actually learning. This is a beautiful book that’ll fit nicely in with the rest of my books on the subject-matter.

Great book. Print is a little small.

Un libro grande y extenso con todo lujo de detalles. Diferentes puntos de vista religiosos. Además incluye archivos y documentos con fechas de datación desconocidas, donde se incluyen escritos de acusadores y acusados. Pequeños dibujos y grabados en las páginas, que mezclan diferentes épocas y que aunque no tienen muy buena calidad, este último detalle, no le resta importancia alguna a este genial libro en inglés, que hoy guardo como joya en mi biblioteca.

Wer sich dafür interessiert, dem kann ich das Buch ans Herz legen