Heresy, Magic and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by Gary K. Waite

more This article provides a tentative comparative study between the nature and persecution of Anabaptists in sixteenth-century Europe and the nature of opposition to the early Bábí movement in nineteenth-century Iran. This article provides a tentative comparative study between the nature and persecution of Anabapt. I teach Medieval and early modern Europe, including the Renaissance, Reformation, witch hunts, crusades, and advanced courses on the 'Mental World of Europeans.' I have focused in particular on how the internalization of spirit beings, such as demons, by the spiritualists, paved the way for the later separation of matter and spirit in the hands of Descartes and Spinoza. This project ties together all of my previous work as I and my research partner, Mike Driedger, explore how the unconventional ideas of Reformation spiritualists such as Joris were refined and developed through the 17th century into precursors of early Enlightenment philosophy within the context of the fascinating urban environment of the Dutch Republic. I am now embarked, with Mike Driedger of Brock University, on an exciting new research program called 'Amsterdamnified! Spiritualist Ideas and Urban Associationalism in the Emergence of the Early Enlightenment in England and the Low Countries, 1540-1700.' The website is: I have completed a research project on views of Jews and Muslims in the 17th century Netherlands and England (a book manuscript is being evaluated).

More recently, I have compared and contrasted ideas about and prosecution of Anabaptists and witches in the 16th century, leading to my most recent monograph, Eradicating the Devil's Minions: Anabaptists and Witches in Reformation Europe (Univ. Starting my research career with the 16th century Dutch Anabaptist/Spiritualist David Joris, I have also explored the Dutch drama guilds the Chambers of Rhetoric and their role in adapting and disseminating religious reform ideas in the 16th century. The author notes that, as with Cathars or Waldensians, research is shaped almost entirely by inquisitorial sources.I am a specialist of the history of religion in the early modern era with particular focus on the Low Countries. The Heresy of Witchcraft in Western Switzerland and Dauphiné (Fifteenth Century) The Heresy of Witchcraft in Western Switzerland and Dauphiné (Fifteenth Century)Ībstract: This article proceeds from the hypothesis that witchcraft (or witch hunting) is best understood when one considers it as a heresy that succeeded other medieval heresies like Catharism and Waldensianism in the later Middle Ages.

Heresy, Magic and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by Gary K. Waite