Introduction : at the crossroads -- I. History. Contexts ; Imagining witchcraft in literature and law ; A winding road to the stake ; Mechanisms of justice -- II. Religion. Healing and harming ; Stealing the sacred ; Broken bodies ; Piety in the torture chamber -- III. Demonology. A candle for the devil ; Demon lovers ; Translating the devil -- Conclusions -- Appendix : Polish witch-trials 1511-1775
Summary
Michael Ostling tells the story of the imagined Polish witches showing how ordinary peasant women got caught in webs of suspicion and accusation, finally confessing under torture to the most heinous of crimes
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 254-274) and index