The Discoverie of Witchcraft
The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584) is a book by Reginald Scot. It treats witchcraft with skepticism. Scot's purpose in writing the book was to prevent the persecution of the poor, the aged, and the simple for witchcraft. Scot blames the Roman Catholic church for keeping alive the belief in witches.[1]
.jpg) Title page of the 1651 edition | |
| Author | Reginald Scot |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Media type | |
Shakespeare found a description of Puck in the book while he was writing A Midsummer Night's Dream.[2] The book created much controversy. King James I of England believed in witches. He ordered all copies of the book to be burnt.[3]
The Discoverie Of Witchcraft Media
Scot's diagram explaining the "Decollation of John Baptist" illusion, in which the performer appears "to cut off ones head, and to laie it in a platter": the table has two holes, and one person raises their head through the rightmost while a second person lies on the table with their head in the leftmost hole. The second person's neck is dressed with "a little dough kneded with bul/locks bloud".
References
- ↑ The Progress of Social Literature in Tudor Times: Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft
- ↑ A Midsummer Night's Dream
- ↑ "Dangerous Ideas: The Discoverie of Witchcraft". Archived from the original on 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
