Title Vexed with devils : manhood and witchcraft in old and New England / Erika Gasser

Published New York : New York University Press, [2017]

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Description 1 online resource (xiii, 223 pages) Series Early American places Early American places. Contents Possession, gender, and power -- Discerning demonic possession and witchcraft-possession in early modern England -- Engendering English witchcraft-possession: the Samuel Family in Warboys -- Disputing possession in England: Samuel Harsnett versus John Darrell -- Engendering New England witchcraft-possession: George Burroughs in Salem -- Disputing possession in New England: Robert Calef versus Cotton Mather -- Continuity and patriarchy at the turn of the eighteenth century Summary Stories of witchcraft and demonic possession from early modern England through the last official trials in colonial New England. Those possessed by the devil in early modern England usually exhibited a common set of symptoms: fits, vomiting, visions, contortions, speaking in tongues, and an antipathy to prayer. However, it was a matter of interpretation, and sometimes public opinion, if these symptoms were visited upon the victim, or if they came from within. Both early modern England and colonial New England had cases that blurred the line between witchcraft and demonic possession, most famously, the Salem witch trials. While historians acknowledge some similarities in witch trials between the two regions, such as the fact that an overwhelming majority of witches were women, the histories of these cases primarily focus on local contexts and specifics. In so doing, they overlook the ways in which manhood factored into possession and witchcraft cases. This is a cultural history of witchcraft-possession phenomena that centers on the role of men and patriarchal power. Erika Gasser reveals that witchcraft trials had as much to do with who had power in the community, to impose judgement or to subvert order, as they did with religious belief. She argues that the gendered dynamics of possession and witchcraft demonstrated that contested meanings of manhood played a critical role in the struggle to maintain authority Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on January 30, 2023) Subject Demoniac possession -- England -- History Witchcraft -- England -- History Demoniac possession -- New England -- History Witchcraft -- New England -- History BODY, MIND & SPIRIT -- Parapsychology -- General. HISTORY -- United States -- State & Local -- New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT) Demoniac possession Witchcraft England New England Genre/Form History Form Electronic book LC no. 2017003473 ISBN 9781479816743 1479816744

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