The Transformations of Magic

Illicit Learned Magic in the Later Middle Ages and Renaissance

Nonfiction, History, Renaissance, Religion & Spirituality, Reference, New Age, Magic Studies
Cover of the book The Transformations of Magic by Frank Klaassen, Penn State University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Frank Klaassen ISBN: 9780271069289
Publisher: Penn State University Press Publication: January 23, 2013
Imprint: Penn State University Press Language: English
Author: Frank Klaassen
ISBN: 9780271069289
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Publication: January 23, 2013
Imprint: Penn State University Press
Language: English

In this original, provocative, well-reasoned, and thoroughly documented book, Frank Klaassen proposes that two principal genres of illicit learned magic occur in late medieval manuscripts: image magic, which could be interpreted and justified in scholastic terms, and ritual magic (in its extreme form, overt necromancy), which could not. Image magic tended to be recopied faithfully; ritual magic tended to be adapted and reworked. These two forms of magic did not usually become intermingled in the manuscripts, but were presented separately. While image magic was often copied in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, The Transformations of Magic demonstrates that interest in it as an independent genre declined precipitously around 1500. Instead, what persisted was the other, more problematic form of magic: ritual magic. Klaassen shows that texts of medieval ritual magic were cherished in the sixteenth century, and writers of new magical treatises, such as Agrippa von Nettesheim and John Dee, were far more deeply indebted to medieval tradition—and specifically to the medieval tradition of ritual magic—than previous scholars have thought them to be.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this original, provocative, well-reasoned, and thoroughly documented book, Frank Klaassen proposes that two principal genres of illicit learned magic occur in late medieval manuscripts: image magic, which could be interpreted and justified in scholastic terms, and ritual magic (in its extreme form, overt necromancy), which could not. Image magic tended to be recopied faithfully; ritual magic tended to be adapted and reworked. These two forms of magic did not usually become intermingled in the manuscripts, but were presented separately. While image magic was often copied in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, The Transformations of Magic demonstrates that interest in it as an independent genre declined precipitously around 1500. Instead, what persisted was the other, more problematic form of magic: ritual magic. Klaassen shows that texts of medieval ritual magic were cherished in the sixteenth century, and writers of new magical treatises, such as Agrippa von Nettesheim and John Dee, were far more deeply indebted to medieval tradition—and specifically to the medieval tradition of ritual magic—than previous scholars have thought them to be.

More books from Penn State University Press

Cover of the book Democracy at the Point of Bayonets by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book A History of Argentina in the Twentieth Century by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book Nothing but Love in God's Water by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book The Challenge of Coleridge by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book Bound to Differ by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book The Fight Over Food by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book Human Rights and Memory by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book Infinite Autonomy by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book An Interpretive Guide to Operatic Arias by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book Serious Nonsense by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book Mexican Costumbrismo by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book The Complete Plays of Jean Racine by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book Living Poetically by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book Elephant House by Frank Klaassen
Cover of the book The Complete Plays of Jean Racine by Frank Klaassen
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy