Premodern Beliefs and Witch Trials in a Swedish Province, 1669-1672

Göran Malmstedt is Professor of History at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

• 1. Introduction.- Part I: The Bohuslän witch trials.- 2. The conduct of the trials.- 3. Accused and accusations.- 4. Lost at sea.- Part II: Dimensions of reality.- 5. Dreams and reality.- 6. Shape-shifting.- Part III: Magical domains.- 7. Powerful emotions.- 8. Spells and charms.- 9. Charged matter.- Part IV: Supernatural powers.- 10. God’s children.- 11. In the clutches of Satan.- 12. Concluding discussion: An enchanted world.

“The book goes on to consider dreams, dreamt-up experiences, and ideas of shapeshifting (in order to sink ships at night) that were presented in the testimonies. Personally, I found this part of the book the most interesting and insightful, as it moved between examples of the porous boundaries and entangled layers of reality … .” (Raisa Maria Toivo, Renaissance Quarterly, Vol.76 (4), 2023)