Region
Strange Histories
The Trial of the Pig, the Walking Dead, and Other Matters of Fact from the Medieval and Renaissance Worlds
By Darren Oldridge
- Price: $95.00
- Binding/Format: Hardback
- ISBN: 978-0-415-28860-6
- Publish Date: September 23rd 2004
- Imprint: Routledge
- Pages: 216 pages
Description
Strange Histories presents a serious account of some of the most extraordinary occurrences of European and North American history and explains how they made sense to people living at the time.
Using case studies from the Middle Ages and the early modern period, this book provides fascinating insights into the world-view of a vanished age and shows how such occurences fitted in quite naturally with the "common sense" of the time. Explanations of these phenomena, riveting and ultimately rational, encourage further reflection on what shapes our beliefs today.
What made reasonable, educated men and women behave in ways that seem utterly nonsensical to us today? This question and many more are answered in this fascinating book.
Reviews
'In his lively and slightly ironic account, Darren Oldridge … finds nothing unreasonable in prosecuting horses, witches and wolfmen … Strange Histories is more than an entertaining catalog of oddities.' - Shepherd Express: Milwaukee
'A well-researched book, full of snippets of old text, diaries and manuscripts, there is much here for the scholar.' - Fate
'An entertaining book.' - The Medieval Review
'a fascinating book… [which offers] excellent, up-to-date summaries drawn from the recent scholarly literature. - Central European History
Contents
1. Introduction 2. Angels on a Pinhead 3. They Hang Horses, don't They? 4. The Roaming Dead 5. A Shipwreck of Souls: Understanding witchcraft 6. Werewolves and Flying Witches 7. Raptures and Forbidden Words 8. Suffering Saints 9. The Case for Killing Heretics 10. Conclusion: The edge of wonder