Excellence in Scholarship and Learning
Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits
Shamanistic Visionary Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic
Emma Wilby is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Exeter.
Contains the first comprehensive examination of popular familiar belief in early modern Britain
Provides an in-depth analysis of the correlation between early modern British magic and tribal shamanism
Examines the experiential dimension of popular magic and witchcraft in early modern Britain
Explores the links between British fairy beliefs and witch beliefs
In the hundreds of confessions relating to witchcraft
and sorcery trials in early modern Britain we frequently find detailed
descriptions of intimate working relationships between popular magical
practitioners and familiar spirits of either human or animal form.
Until recently historians often dismissed these descriptions as
elaborate fictions created by judicial interrogators eager to find
evidence of stereotypical pacts with the Devil. Although this paradigm
is now routinely questioned, and most historians acknowledge that
there was a folkloric component to familiar lore in the period,
these beliefs, and the experiences reportedly associated with them,
remain substantially unexplored.
This book examines the folkloric roots of familiar lore
in early modern Britain from historical, anthropological and comparative
religious perspectives. It argues that beliefs about witches’
familiars were rooted in beliefs surrounding the use of fairy familiars
by beneficent magical practitioners or ‘cunning folk’,
and corroborates this through a comparative analysis of familiar
beliefs found in traditional Native American and Siberian shamanism.
The author then goes on to explore the experiential dimension of
familiar lore by drawing parallels between early modern familiar
encounters and visionary mysticism as it appears in both tribal
shamanism and medieval European contemplative traditions. These
perspectives challenge the reductionist view of popular magic in
early modern Britain often presented by historians.
Hardback ISBN: | 978-1-84519-078-1 |
Hardback Price: | £47.50 / $67.50 |
Release Date: | September 2005 |
Paperback ISBN: | 978-1-84519-079-8 |
Paperback Price: | £22.50 / $39.95 |
Release Date: | September 2005 |
Page Extent / Format: | 320 pp. / 229 x 152 mm |
Illustrated: | Yes |
List of Illustrations
Preface: Walking with Spirits – A Cunning Woman’s
Tale Acknowledgments
Part I: Demon and Fairy Familiars: The Historical Context
Introduction to Part One
1. A Harsh and Enchanted World
2. Cunning Folk and Witches
3. The Magical Use of Spirits
4. Human and Spirit: The Meeting
5. The Working Relationship
6. Renunciation and Pact
7. Demon and Fairy: The Interface
Part II: Anthropological Perspectives
Introduction to Part Two
8. The Shaman’s Calling
9. Spirit Worlds and High Gods
Part III: The Experiential Dimension
Introduction to Part Three
10. Phantasticks and Phantasms
11. Psychosis or Spirituality?
12. The Unrecognized Mystics
13. Greedigut and the Angel Gabriel
14. The Freedom of Magi
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Wilby’s thesis is that the
image of the familiar spirit is not an elite fiction imposed
by prosecutors, but represents the folk beliefs of magical
practitioners –cunning folk who practised beneficent
magic, and witches who were more malevolent. She goes further,
arguing that the concept of the witch’s familiar derives
from ancient British animistic religion. Part III of the book,
The Experiential Dimension, suggests that at least some of
the accounts of encounters with familiars and witches sabbaths
describe the vision experiences of British cunning folk who
regarded the fairy folk as sacred spirits. This argument is
strengthened by comparisons drawn to the visions of Christian
mystics. Wilby points out, correctly, that we do not think
of cunning folk as mystics because they do not conform to
the pious and ascetic norms established by Christian saints.
The book is carefully organized and clearly written.
Moira Smith, Journal of Folklore Research
Emma Wilby examines in abundant detail the statements
in which witches and cunning folk described their encounters
with spirits ... [and] argues that these statements ... are
evidence of archaic animistic beliefs persisting into Early
Modern times; occasionally, they hint at experiences of religious
intensity comparable not merely with shamanism, but with the
visions of medieval Christian mystics. This is bold stuff
... Emma Wilby’s views challenge those of other current
historians, notably Owen Davies, who sees cunning folk as
far more pragmatic and down-to-earth, and Diane Purkiss, who
interprets the encounters of witches with fairies as compensatory
psychological fantasies. The debate between these and other
scholars will be very instructive.” Jacqueline Simpson, Folklore
Wilby demonstrates that the acquisition of familiars
and other types of ‘spirit guide’ is something
that is part of a shamanic tradition stretching way back before
the early modern period. The way this experience has been
demonized and made part of the witchcraft ‘heresy’
has distracted modern researchers from seeing it for what
it is. It was a hugely important part of the experience of
a cunning person and it’s neglect has meant that our
view of cunning folk has been somewhat distorted until now.
Wilby’s book is fascinating and well researched. It
is a genuine contribution to what is known about cunning folk
and lays very solid foundations for future work on the subject.
Brian Hoggard, White Dragon
Wilby valuably sets the ground for
further exploration of the role and character of folk magic
within community and tradition and is to be recommended for
that.
John Billings, Northern Earth
Sometimes a book can be academic
and very readable – this work strikes that happy balance
for me … a fascinating, riveting and downright encouraging
re-view of the magical underpinning of mainstream culture.
Jan Morgan Wood, Sacred Hoop
Emma Wilby’s conclusions and
her explanation of how she drew them, laid down here in the
commendable modern academic tendency towards plain English
that has moved away from the previous generation’s overly
complex sentence structure, is worth its weight in gold.
Ian Read, Runa: Exploring Northern European Myth, Mystery
and Magic
One of the few books to treat
in any detail, and perhaps the only one to treat at length,
the topic of the witch’s familiar … these kinds
of consideration are very fruitful for understanding much
fortean material …
Fortean Times
Judges’ Report, Katharine Briggs Folklore Award 2006
Wilby does not support the notion of an
‘old religion’ nor an enduring singular ‘tradition’, and she
does not read the trial and confession sources uncritically.
Rather, she approaches the sources with the interpretative
framework of ‘shamanism’
... Not only does the term ‘shaman’
work consistently in what might appear to be an incongruous
setting, but it also re-configures our understanding of witches
and cunning folk … Approaching them as animist shamans embedded
in local community relations constitutes a considerably nuanced
analysis.
Journal for the Academic Study of Magic
Books can be ordered by phone or online
Ordering in the UK, Europe, Asia, Australasia, South America and Rest of the World
Gazelle Book Services
Direct sales tel.: +44 (0)1524 528500; email: sales@gazellebookservices.co.uk
Web ordering: www.gazellebookservices.co.uk
Ordering in the United States and Canada
Independent Publishers Group (IPG)
Direct sales tel.: (800) 888-4741
Web ordering: www.ipgbook.com
Bookseller Ordering
Information is provided under the Resources tab.
eBook Ordering
e-Book type availability can be sourced via www.ipgbook.com by book title. Kindle availability is via Amazon .com and .co.uk sites.