Description
In early modern Europe, ideas about nature, God, demons and occult forces were inextricably connected and much ink and blood was spilled in arguments over the characteristics and boundaries of nature and the supernatural. Seitz uses records of Inquisition witchcraft trials in Venice to uncover how individuals across society, from servants to aristocrats, understood these two fundamental categories. Others have examined this issue from the points of view of religious history, the history of science and medicine, or the history of witchcraft alone, but this work brings these sub-fields together to illuminate comprehensively the complex forces shaping early modern beliefs.
Records of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century witchcraft trials in Venice uncover individuals' conception of the supernatural in early modern Europe.
About the Author
Jonathan Seitz received his Ph.D. from the Department of the History of Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2006. He is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Drexel University, where he has lectured since 2006. Seitz's awards include an American Historical Association Schmitt Grant, a Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship, and a John Neu Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship. He researched this book in the libraries and archives of Venice and of the Vatican, supported by a Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation fellowship and a National Science Foundation Dissertation Research fellowship. He has been published in Renaissance Quarterly, Isis, Gender and History, The Sixteenth Century Journal and at H-net.org (H-ITALY).
Reviews
'This book makes a sterling contribution to the broader debate about early modern mentalities, and as such deserves a wide readership. It will be especially useful to scholars of the Inquisition (there is an excellent overview of how business was conducted in the Venetian tribunal) and to historians of exorcism: the sections on how Venetian exorcists were trained and how they plied their trade are masterful.' Jonathan Wright, Journal of European Studies
'Seitz provides a detailed reconsideration of Venetian witch trials, focusing on medical understandings rooted in inquisitorial procedure and popular mentalities ... makes a significant contribution to the history of medicine in early modern Italy, and one welcomes a future expansion of his findings.' David Lederer, Bulletin of the History of Medicine
Book Information
ISBN 9781107011298
Author Jonathan Seitz
Format Hardback
Page Count 298
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 550g
Dimensions(mm) 233mm * 160mm * 22mm
Records of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century witchcraft trials in Venice uncover individuals' conception of the supernatural in early modern Europe.
About the Author
Jonathan Seitz received his Ph.D. from the Department of the History of Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2006. He is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Drexel University, where he has lectured since 2006. Seitz's awards include an American Historical Association Schmitt Grant, a Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship, and a John Neu Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship. He researched this book in the libraries and archives of Venice and of the Vatican, supported by a Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation fellowship and a National Science Foundation Dissertation Research fellowship. He has been published in Renaissance Quarterly, Isis, Gender and History, The Sixteenth Century Journal and at H-net.org (H-ITALY).
Reviews
'This book makes a sterling contribution to the broader debate about early modern mentalities, and as such deserves a wide readership. It will be especially useful to scholars of the Inquisition (there is an excellent overview of how business was conducted in the Venetian tribunal) and to historians of exorcism: the sections on how Venetian exorcists were trained and how they plied their trade are masterful.' Jonathan Wright, Journal of European Studies
'Seitz provides a detailed reconsideration of Venetian witch trials, focusing on medical understandings rooted in inquisitorial procedure and popular mentalities ... makes a significant contribution to the history of medicine in early modern Italy, and one welcomes a future expansion of his findings.' David Lederer, Bulletin of the History of Medicine
Book Information
ISBN 9781107011298
Author Jonathan Seitz
Format Hardback
Page Count 298
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 550g
Dimensions(mm) 233mm * 160mm * 22mm
