Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt

This book offers a comprehensive record of legal documents written in 1692 and 1693 in connection with the Salem witch trials.

Bernard Rosenthal (Author)

9780521661669, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 January 2009

1012 pages
28.7 x 23 x 5.9 cm, 2.5 kg

'Anyone who is interested in the witchcraft crisis that centered on Salem in 1962 will want to consult if not own this volume.' The Journal of Ecclesiastical History

This book represents a comprehensive record of all legal documents pertaining to the Salem witch trials, in chronological order. Numerous manuscripts, as well as records published in earlier books that were overlooked in other editions, offer a comprehensive narrative account of the events of 1692–3, with supplementary materials stretching as far as the mid-18th century. The book can be used as a reference book or read as an unfolding narrative. All legal records are newly transcribed, and included in this edition is a historical introduction, a legal introduction, and a linguistic introduction. Manuscripts are accompanied by notes that, in many cases, identify the person who wrote the record. This has never been attempted, and much is revealed by seeing who wrote what, when.

1. List of facsimile plates
2. General introduction Bernard Rosenthal
3. Legal procedures used during the Salem witch trials and a brief history of the published version of the records Richard Trask
4. Linguistic introduction Peter Grund, Risto Hiltunen, Leena Kahlas-Tarkka, Merja Kytö, Matti Peikola and Matti Rissanen
5. Editorial principles
6. Chronological arrangement Bernard Rosenthal and Margo Burns
7. List of the records of the Salem witch hunt
8. The records
9. Timeline: court of Oyer & Terminer and Superior Court of Judicature
10. Biographical notes Marilynne K. Roach
11. Works cited
12. Acknowledgements
13. Index.

Subject Areas: History of the Americas [HBJK]