The second edition of Brian Levack's survey of the age of
witch-hunting in Europe and colonial America improves on the
significant success of the first edition, published to good
reviews in 1987. Necessitated by eight years of scholarly
activity on witchcraft, this new paperback version repeats
Levack's insistence that witch-hunts were sparked by diverse and
complex causes. In fact, Levack states that recent regional and
thematic studies buttress his multi-causal conclusions. There
are, however, few textual additions apparent to this reader after
a thorough paragraph by paragraph comparison of the two editions
except some fresh material on Dutch, Hungarian, and Russian
witch-hunts in chapter seven.
One strength of Levack's impressive synthesis is its use of
printed sources in many languages to provide national
examinations of the witch-craze. For instance, the author
concludes that while German communities exhibited frenzied
paranoia directed at "witches," England only did a little witch-
hunting. His explanation for these regional differences is
reliable and, of course, multiple.
The English elite, Levack argues, never accepted witch
beliefs, and rejected continental ideas about demons. Even when
some were charged with witchcraft, torture was rarely used to
extract confession or recanting. Since in England trial was by
jury, not by inquisitor, and since unanimity was required to
convict, fewer convictions were forthcoming. In Scotland, by
contrast, a simple majority of jurors was necessary for a guilty
verdict.
Although his arguments remain unaltered by the avalanche of
new research on the subject, Levack has updated his
bibliographical essay, citations, and the fifteen-page
bibliography to include the most recent publications.
Conspicuously missing from the bibliography, however, are the
multiple volumes on witchcraft and demonology edited by Levack
himself for Garland Press. One wonders why no reference to any
of the twelve books, available since 1992, on such subjects as
witchcraft in England, in Scotland, in colonial America, and in
continental Europe, appears in the list of works worth
consulting.
Author Levack and publisher Longman have responded wisely to
criticism about the first edition's production values and the
usefulness of its chaotic endnotes. Citations are now placed at
the bottom of the page and are complete, following the accepted
format for historical scholarship. In addition, illustrations,
some of them new, are much clearer, and tables, now with
percentages rounded up, are easier to read.
The book offers a solid, reasonable interpretation of the
accusations, prosecution, and execution of thousands for
witchcraft in Europe between 1450 and 1750. Levack is careful to
avoid rash explanations or single cause theories. He is also
careful to delineate what happened and why from one country to
the next in the witch-craze (a term Levack assiduously rejects)
phenomenon. There is no model, he persuades the reader, which
applies everywhere. And since Levack focuses on the background
from which witch-hunts emerge, he has little occasion to examine
the resulting dramatic trials.
Because of this emphasis on pre-trial activity, the book
lacks the power and passion one would expect in a subject as
flamboyant as witch-hunting. In opting for a reasonable and
cautious analysis of his topic, Levack also writes in a sensible,
text-book fashion. After a while, however, the logical skeleton
of the author's style begins to protrude through the fleshy data.
Written as though from an outline, paragraphs sequentially tick
off reasons, causes, and factors. Irritated, the reader longs
for an engaging sentence or a controversial contention. Levack
states in his preface that he undertook the task of synthesizing
previous work on witchcraft for the benefit of his students who
were overwhelmed by the cacophony of the scholarly debate. I
fear that while students may benefit from the thorough
examination of a fascinating subject which Levack provides, they
may not be sufficiently inspired by the author's spartan writing
style to appreciate it.
Elizabeth Lane Furdell,
University of North Florida
efurdell@unf1vm.bitnet