Magic in the Cloister

Pious Motives, Illicit Interests, and Occult Approaches to the Medieval Universe

Häftad, Engelska, 2015

Av Sophie Page, Sophie (University College London) Page

599 kr

Beställningsvara. Skickas inom 7-10 vardagar

Fri frakt för medlemmar vid köp för minst 249 kr.

During the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries a group of monks with occult interests donated what became a remarkable collection of more than thirty magic texts to the library of the Benedictine abbey of St. Augustine's in Canterbury. The monks collected texts that provided positive justifications for the practice of magic and books in which works of magic were copied side by side with works of more licit genres. In Magic in the Cloister, Sophie Page uses this collection to explore the gradual shift toward more positive attitudes to magical texts and ideas in medieval Europe. She examines what attracted monks to magic texts, works, and how they combined magic with their intellectual interests and monastic life. By showing how it was possible for religious insiders to integrate magical studies with their orthodox worldview, Magic in the Cloister contributes to a broader understanding of the role of magical texts and ideas and their acceptance in the late Middle Ages.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2015-10-15
Mått152 x 222 x 19 mm
Vikt408 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieMagic in History
Antal sidor248
FörlagPennsylvania State University Press
ISBN9780271060347

Tillhör följande kategorier

Religion: allmänt inom Filosofi och religion

ContentsList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction1Monks and Their Magic Texts at St. Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury2Natural Magic: The Basilisk and the Lodestone3The Liber vaccae: Magical Uses of Monstrous Creations4Image Magic: Harnessing Power in the Harmonious Universe5The Liber de essentia spirituum: Magic, Revelation, and Fellowship with Spirits6The Ars notoria and Its Monastic AudienceEpilogueJohn Dee, St. Augustine’s Manuscripts, and Renaissance MagicAppendix 1Translation of the Glossulae super Librum imaginum lunaeAppendix 2Translation of the Liber de essentia spirituumNotesSelected BibliographyIndex

“In addition to exploring manuscripts and their contents in detail, Magic in the Cloister is original in its focus on a known group of men who owned and read these books and perhaps tried out some of the rituals in them. This is unusual because many manuscripts of magical texts have been lost, or we do not know who owned them. The book therefore presents much new information about the readers of magical texts. It also approaches this issue from a new angle. Sophie Page shows that magical texts could appeal to people who were part of the religious establishment (monks in a wealthy monastery) and who had a monastic vocation.”—Catherine Rider, University of Exeter