Review article

Magical practices of the Middle Ages

Ivan Smiljanić orcid.org/0000-0003-4926-3162 ; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu

Abstract

The work begins with a review of Old Testament views on the magical practices of non-Jewish people and the constitutive practices prescribed in the event of a violation of Lord’s regulations. Then, attention is paid to the patristic theological thought about the concept of the magic and its connection with pagan non-Christian practices. The Christian formation of the conceptions of magic was most recognizable in the minds of the great theologians and philosophers of scholasticism Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas over the issue of necromancy and high forms of ritual magic. The paper concludes with an overview of secular constitutive practices concerning the spread of evil (maleficium) on others, the institutions of the Inquisition, and the work Malleus maleficarum, which had a major influence on the secular judiciary in early witchcraft persecution.

Keywords

magic; necromancy; occultism; paganism; witchcraft; Inquisition; rituals; black magic

Hrčak ID:

229428

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/229428

Publication date:

16.12.2019.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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