Witchcraft

Witchcraft traces changing ideas about witches from the remnants of early religious beliefs through Christian reinterpretation, deliberate diabolism and accusations dismissed by Hughes as cruel nonsense. The book considers how magical practices and beliefs developed, declined and survived within Western culture.

Its historical discussion draws on early records and the medieval background of the witch-cult, with examples involving King Arthur, Jeanne d’Arc, Gilles de Rais and Robin Hood. Hughes also examines reported forms of conscious and unconscious diabolism, arguing that belief in witch powers reflects a degeneration of ancient religious ideas. At their most constructive, he suggests, those beliefs expressed a sense of humanity’s relationship with nature and the wider cosmos.