Richard Cavendish (12 August 1930 – 21 October 2016) was a British historian who was considered Britain's foremost authority on the subjects of

occultism The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism an ...

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, the

tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, ...

, and

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

Personal life

Cavendish was born in 1930 at

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, the son of a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

clergyman. He lived with his partner in the United States for eight years, in New York City and Los Angeles. His daughter is the journalist and life peer Camilla Cavendish, Baroness Cavendish of Little Venice.

Career

Cavendish was educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553 ...

and at

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he specialized in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

studies. He wrote both on the political and social history of Great Britain and on the history of

folk magic In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized rel ...

and

in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

and Europe. Among his best-known works are ''The Black Arts: A Concise History of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages'', ''The Tarot'', ''A History of Magic'', and the 24-volume set '' Man, Myth & Magic'', which he both edited and contributed to. He also wrote regularly for the British journal ''

History Today ''History Today'' is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and pub ...

''. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' said that Cavendish was considered "an authority on magic, myth, and witchcraft" and that his work was highly regarded for its depth of research and agnostic stance towards its sometimes controversial subject matter. Some of his books like ''The Black Arts: A Concise History of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages'' and ''The Powers of Evil in Western Religion, Magic and Folk Belief'' were written for a lay audience rather than for scholars, and had become bestsellers with ''The Black Arts'' passing its 40th edition. In his 2016 obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' described him as: "Gregarious author and historian who became Britain's foremost authority on the occult while steadfastly refusing to dabble himself".

Works

* ''The Black Arts: A Concise History of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages'', 1967 * ''Encyclopaedia of the Unexplained: Magic, Occultism and Parapsychology'', 1974. * ''Explore Britain's Coastline'', AA Explore Britain Guides * ''The Great Religions'' * ''A History of Magic'' * ''Images of Britain'',

W.H. Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...

Exclusive Books * ''King Arthur and the Grail: The Arthurian Legends and Their Meaning'' * ''Kings & Queens: The Story of Britain's Monarchs From Earliest Times'' * ''Legends of the World'' * ''The Magical Arts'', Arkana * '' Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural'', 1970–1972 (24 volumes) * ''Mysteries of the Universe'' * ''Mythology: An Illustrated Encyclopedia'', 1980 * ''100 Great Wonders of the World'' * ''1001 Historic Sites You Must See Before You Die'' * ''The Powers of Evil in Western Religion, Magic and Folk Belief'',

Routledge and Kegan Paul Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, London, 1975 * ''Prehistoric England'' * ''The Tarot'', London: Chancellor Press, 1975 * ''Visions of Heaven and Hell'' * ''Wonders of the World'' * ''The World of Ghosts and the Supernatural'', 1994

References

1930 births 2016 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford People educated at Christ's Hospital People from Henley-on-Thames 21st-century English historians 20th-century English historians British medievalists English occult writers {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub