''The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe'' is a historical study of magical beliefs in Europe between the 5th and 12th centuries CE. It was written by the English historian Valerie I.J. Flint, then of the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, and published by

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial su ...

in 1991. Flint's main argument is that while some major governments in early medieval Europe, influenced by the example set by the former Roman Empire, tried to suppress the practice of magic, eventually it experienced a revival and came to flourish, encouraged by a new belief that it could be beneficial for humanity. Divided into four parts, in the book's introductory section, Flint discusses the source material that she is drawing from, and offers an overview of the view of magic that medieval society inherited from both the Classical world and the Judeo-Christian tradition. Flint's book would come to be recognised as the most authoritative study of the subject of early medieval magic across Europe.

Synopsis

Part I: Introduction

Chapter one, "The Scope of the Study", begins by exploring what magic is and what it meant to Early Medieval society. For the purpose of her study, Flint defines "magic" as "the exercise of preternatural control over nature by human beings, with the assistance of forces more powerful than they." She notes that in the book she plans to explore "emotional history", namely the reasons why many medieval Europeans felt an emotional need for magic in their lives. Discussing the relationship between magic and science, and then magic and religion, Flint notes that much of what she discusses in the book deals with the attitude taken towards different kinds of magic by the Christian Church. Concluding this introductory chapter, she describes the nature of the historical record from this period, and the multiple problems that historians face in understanding it. In the second chapter, entitled "The Legacy of Attitudes", Flint discusses the two primary attitudes taken toward magic in Early Medieval Europe: alarm and hope. Looking at the alarm caused by magic, she discusses the work of classical authors like

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

and

Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...

, who denounced magicians and their crafts, as well as the manner in which poets such as

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

and

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

portrayed magic as a dangerous and malevolent art. Flint also highlights the manner in which Judeo-Christian tradition condemned the practice of magic, both in the Bible and in un-canonical literature such as the '' Book of Enoch'', and in particular the laws that were enacted against astrologers by the Roman Senate. Ultimately, she notes that by the dawning of the Middle Ages, words like ''magia'', ''magus'' and ''maleficium'' carried "a very heavy freight of condemnation." Moving on to a discussion of "hope", Flint discusses more positive descriptions of magic in the ancient world, noting the reverence for certain forms of divination in Roman literature and law, and the positive descriptions of certain magical acts in the poetry of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

and accounts of Cato. She proceeds to look at the few positive descriptions of astrology in the Judeo-Christian literature of the period, and the Judeo-Christian emphasis on prophecy, particularly in the writings of

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

, which bore many similarities with divination. Flint 1991. pp. 22–35.

Part II: The Magic of the Heavens

Part III: The Magic of the Earth

Part IV: The Magus

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

;Academic books and papers {{DEFAULTSORT:Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe 1991 non-fiction books Academic studies of ritual and magic History books about witchcraft