Religion and the Decline of Magic

Witchcraft, astrology, divination and every kind of popular magic flourished in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from the belief that a blessed amulet could prevent the assaults of the Devil to the use of the same charms to recover stolen goods. At the same time, the Protestant Reformation attempted to take the magic out of religion, and scientists were d...

Witchcraft, astrology, divination and every kind of popular magic flourished in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from the belief that a blessed amulet could prevent the assaults of the Devil to the use of the same charms to recover stolen goods. At the same time, the Protestant Reformation attempted to take the magic out of religion, and scientists were developing new explanations of the universe. Keith Thomas' classic analysis of beliefs held on every level of English society begins with the collapse of the medieval Church and ends with the changing intellectual atmosphere around 1700, when science and rationalism began to challenge the older systems of belief.

基思·托马斯爵士（Sir Keith Thomas，1933— ），英国历史学家，代表作为《16和17世纪英格兰大众信仰研究》和《人类与自然世界》。曾任牛津大学基督圣体学院院长、牛津大学副校长、《牛津国家人物传记大辞典》顾问。1988年因对早期现代英国历史研究的贡献， 被女王授予骑士爵位。在知名历史刊物《今日历史》创刊六十周年的历史学家评选上，托马斯是仅有的被三位专家推选的史学大家。