Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern England
Contemporary Texts and their Cultural Contexts

This book is exclusively devoted to demonic possession and exorcism in early modern England.

Philip C. Almond (Author)

9780521813235, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 1 July 2004

416 pages
23.6 x 16 x 2.9 cm, 0.78 kg

This book is exclusively devoted to demonic possession and exorcism in early modern England. It offers modernized versions of the most significant early modern texts on nine cases of demonic possession from the period 1570 to 1650, the key period in English history for demonic possession. The nine stories were all written by eyewitnesses or were derived from eyewitness reports. They involve matters of life and death, sin and sanctity, guilt and innocence, of crimes which could not be committed and punishments which could not be deserved. The nine critical introductions which accompany the stories address the different strategic intentions of those who wrote them. The modernized texts and critical introductions are placed within the context of a wide-ranging general Introduction to demonic possession in England across the period 1550 to 1700.

Preface
Introduction
1. Disfigured by the Devil: the story of Alexander Nyndge
2. Two possessed maidens in London: the story of Agnes Briggs and Rachel Pinder
3. The witches of Warboys: the story of the Throckmorton Children
4. The boy of Burton: the story of Thomas Darling
5. A household possessed: the story of the Lancashire seven
6. The counterfeit demoniac: the story of William Sommers
7. The puritan martyr: the story of Mary Glover
8. The boy of Bilson: the story of William Perry
9. A pious daughter: the story of Margaret Muschamp
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]