A Companion to the Devil and Demons, C.1100-1750 - (Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition) by Kathryn a Edwards (Hardcover)

About the Book

Bringing together 18 internationally recognized specialists, A Companion to the Devil and Demons provides the latest research on beliefs about the Devil and demons in late medieval and early modern Europe, a period when these ideas greatly influenced society, religion, and politics.

Book Synopsis

For medieval and early modern Europeans, the Devil and his demonic minions were seen as increasingly active. They tempted monks, tortured the unwary, and conspired against humanity. They were responsible for waves of heresy, plague, famine, and religious division, and they formed unholy alliances foreshadowing the approaching Apocalypse and End Times.

Bringing together eighteen internationally recognized specialists, A Companion to the Devil and Demons explores the latest research on premodern European beliefs about the Devil and demons. With chapters ranging from scholastic and necromantic perceptions of demons to the place of demons within witch trials, connections between demons and non-human beings, and media that spread ideas about demons, it argues for the centrality and durability of "demon knowledge" in European culture.

Contributors to this volume: Philip C. Almond, Robin B. Barnes, Dean Phillip Bell, Michelle D. Brock, Fabián Alejandro Campagne, David J. Collins, SJ, Ismael del Olmo, Kathryn A. Edwards, Lizanne Henderson, David Johannes Olszynski, Richard Raiswell, Juanita Feros Ruys, James Sharpe, Julien Véronèse, Rita Voltmer, Hans de Waardt, Gary K. Waite, and Charles Zika.

About the Author

Kathryn A. Edwards, Ph.D., is Professor of History at the University of South Carolina and the author or editor of numerous books and articles on late medieval and early modern European society and traditional beliefs, including the forthcoming Living with Ghosts: The Dead in European Society from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment.