A. Historiography Flashcards
Why did some historians not consider witchcraft a serious object of analysis ?
Because they belived it did not exist
How did other historians view witch-hunting from a moral perspective ?
Viewed witch-hunting as legitimate from a moral perspective seeing it as a response to what they considered “ the foulest crime and deepest shame of western civilization” due to its perceuved destruction of churches, governements, societies and souls
What was the général perception of witch hunting and burning during the Enlightenment period 1685-1815
Considered as manifestations of superstition, ignorance and religious bigotry of thé Dark Ages.Witchcraft was Seen as a symptome of “primitive” and “backward” cultures
Who is credited with publishing the first major modern critical historical study of witchcraft, and when was it published
The first major modern critical historical study of witchcraft was published in 1718 by the English Protestant Francis Hutchinson
Who was thé french catholic historians known for analyzing witchcraft from a local and individual perspective in his essay “La sorcière”
Jules Michelet
Who was thé french catholic historians known for analyzing witchcraft from a local and individual perspective in his essay “La sorcière”
Jules Michelet
How did Jules Michelet approach the analysis of witchcraft in his essay “La Sorcière”
Hé analysed witchcraft from a local and individual point of view, explaining why and how medieval women became “Sorcière de la décadence”
What did Jules Michelet’s insights into ?
Into the mental worldview of medieval Times (book1) and case studies of trials ans executions in France (Book 2)
What the main point of contrast between soldan and Michelet in their intrepretation of witchcraft ?
Soldan and Michelet represent a contrast btw fear and moral judgment (Soldan) and admiration (Michelet) in their intrepretation of witchcraft.
Despote their differences what point soldan and Michelet bith wrong about?
About the Idea that only catholics persecuted the witches. Bith persecuted the witches during the witch crazes in western Europe
What did William Monter deminstrate in his 1972 article about the study of European witchcraft?
He demonstrated that the paradigm developed bybthe two approaches mentioned were complementary and that a compréhensive study of European witchcraft required an understanding of various fields including theology, medecine, law and philosophy
What did revisionist historians in thé 1970s acknowledge about the beliefs in witchcraft ?
The beliefs in witchcraft was so baffling that most historians regarded it as peripheral or even nonsensical
Why did thé revisionists suggest that the belief in witchcraft was perceived as strange by historians
Witchcraft challenged thé division btw the Real and the unreal, the possible and the impossible, and the familiar and the alien
How IS the modern scholarly representions of witches?
Witches are described of witches are described as often flat, wooden, one dimensional and less than fully human which does not reflect thé complexity and power attribued to witches by their contemporaries
Why is witchcraft considered a complex subject?
It requires expertise in various fields such as theology, History, sociology, and anthropology to be fully understood
What groundbreaking approach did Keith thomas and Alan MacFarlane take in their works on witchcraft in the 1970s?
They distanced their works from religion and used anthropological and sociological perspectives to make sense of witchcraft arguing that what seemed nonsensical had meaning on some level
What does Stuart Clark argue in his work “thinking with demons” 1999 regarding the belief in witchcraft
Stuart Clark argue that people in thé past believed in witchcraft not because they were ignorant but because it was their waybof understanding the World. Hé emphasized the importance of understanding why and how they believed in witchcraft
What is Stephen Greenblatt’s approach in the 1990s regarding thé relationship btw History and literary texts ?
It rejects thé dichotomy btw History and literary texts and argues that History cannot be found outside thé texts produced at a specific Time
According to greenblatt what is the text’s role in relation to history
A text does not only reflects the age it was produced in but also fashion that age
How does greenblatt view the role of artworks in relation to history ?
As enabling conditions and shaping forces for historical meaning, with thé work of art actively participating in the fashion and re-fashioning of historical experience
How does greenblatt describe witchcraft’s place in thé context of cultural poetics?
Greenblatt describes witchcraft as part of cultural poetics situated btw disciplines, facts ans fiction and History and literature
What broader background does the text suggest IS necessary to understand the complex study of witchcraft ?
The need to place it within a larger background, not only in popular culture but in culture in general especially considering thé belief in an enchanted World during that time
