Bengt Ankarloo (1935–2008)

A scholarly look at European witchcraft. It starts out well, with a detailed history of where and when witch trials happened in Europe, and tries to correct some assumptions that have long been made by looking at the record with fresh eyes. The authors seem to miss a particular pattern that screams out of their work, but overall it is an accessible history. In the latter part of the book, however, the ultra postmodernism begins to get annoying as professional historians neglect reality altogether to support their point that witchcraft and magic were totally rational points of view in their time (if one accepts their argument, one must acknowledge that witchcraft and magic are totally rational in our time, as well, since one of their prime arguments is the number of people that believe in it - NOT an indication of truth, rationality, or anything other than societal patterns). The constant sniping at people who regard the viewpoints of this time as being magic at all becomes frustrating, and some of the statements made by the author are so outrageous it is difficult to believe he is actually a scholar, but unfortunately, this is a viewpoint all too frequently promoted in academic circles. In the end, he attempts to demonstrate that science itself is magic, on which point he fails, though he does make the somewhat banal point that many of the scientific geniuses of the time dabbled in magical arts. This is well known and not denied by scientists; most scientists simply take their scientific genius and recognize their eccentricities as the same foibles that are part of being human. The redefinition of naturalism is particularly annoying. If you wish to avoid such frustrations, read the first two parts for the history, and skip the third.… (mehr)