Magic as a Useful Category of Historical Analysis.
This article outlines the role and function of 'service' magic in premodern society, and suggests ways in which the study of magic can be used as a lens to investigate and understand broader historical questions. Magic studies is a marginalised field, and the supernatural generally is treated as an...
| Published in: | History Vol. 106; no. 370; pp. 200 - 221 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
Mar2021
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=150743314&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 150743314 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00182648 HSY jtl: History issn: 00182648 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Mar2021 vid: 106 iid: 370 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell artinfo: ui: 150743314 10.1111/1468-229X.13106 ppf: 200 ppct: 21 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 199KB tig: atl: Magic as a Useful Category of Historical Analysis. aug: au: Stanmore, Tabitha affil: University of Bristol su: Historical analysis Magic Black market Economic history Supernatural Witchcraft sug: subj: Historical analysis Magic Black market Economic history Supernatural Witchcraft ab: This article outlines the role and function of 'service' magic in premodern society, and suggests ways in which the study of magic can be used as a lens to investigate and understand broader historical questions. Magic studies is a marginalised field, and the supernatural generally is treated as an unusual aspect of the human experience. This article shows that there are major benefits to reintegrating magic into wider historical studies. The article begins by introducing the concept of service magic as a phenomenon in premodern societies, and argues for its fundamental importance particularly during the medieval and early modern periods. Having established this, I explore the ways that its reintegration can affect our interpretation of the past. This article suggests ways in which magic might be useful for exploring other fields of social, political and economic history. Its function as an illicit tool makes magic a unique window for exploring a number of topics, such as cultures of tolerance and persecution, black market and proto‐capitalist economics, and liminal or marginalised communities. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of History is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: History holder: Wiley-Blackwell dt: @attributes: year: 2021 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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