Vexed with Devils: Manhood and Witchcraft in Old and New England
Erika Gasser, "Vexed with Devils: Manhood and Witchcraft in Old and New England "
English | ISBN: 1479831794 | 2017 | 272 pages | AZW3 | 696 KB
English | ISBN: 1479831794 | 2017 | 272 pages | AZW3 | 696 KB
Stories of witchcraft and demonic possession from early modern England through the last official trials in colonial New England
Those possessed by the devil in early modern England usually exhibited a common set of symptoms: fits, vomiting, visions, contortions, speaking in tongues, and an antipathy to prayer. However, it was a matter of interpretation, and sometimes public opinion, if these symptoms were visited upon the victim, or if they came from within. Both early modern England and colonial New England had cases that blurred the line between witchcraft and demonic possession, most famously, the Salem witch trials. While historians acknowledge some similarities in witch trials between the two regions, such as the fact that an overwhelming majority of witches were women, the histories of these cases primarily focus on local contexts and specifics. In so doing, they overlook the ways in which manhood factored into possession and witchcraft cases.
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