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The Serpent in the Garden: How early-modern writers and artists depicted devils and witches

Goff, Jennifer
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1396523520

Abstract Details

2014, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Germanic Languages and Literature.
The early-modern period was a time of political, social, religious, and philosophical transitions. This thesis seeks to explore early-modern witchcraft within the framework of these transitions, using ecclesiastical treatises, contemporary art, witch trial transcripts, and literary depictions of witchcraft to ascertain the changing role of the devil in the early-modern conceptualization of witchcraft. At the beginning of this period, the devil was a ubiquitous and concrete presence in virtually all early-modern witchcraft discourse, whether textual or visual. As the period evolves, textual and visual representations develop nuances that reflect the changing philosophical and religious discourses. By the end of this period, texts and art indicate a spectrum of beliefs about the devil’s role in witchcraft, from the concrete and dominant presence he had at the beginning of this period, through a middle-ground of equality with the witch in her/his apostasy, through to a growing disbelief in his corporeal existence or influence on human behavior. The images of the devil and witch during this period remain the dominant images of the devil and witch into and throughout the modern period.
Richard Schade, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Sigrun Haude, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
63 p.
Germanic Literature
early modern; medieval; witchcraft; devil; sorcery; magic

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Goff, J. (2014). The Serpent in the Garden: How early-modern writers and artists depicted devils and witches [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1396523520

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Goff, Jennifer. The Serpent in the Garden: How early-modern writers and artists depicted devils and witches. 2014. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1396523520.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Goff, Jennifer. "The Serpent in the Garden: How early-modern writers and artists depicted devils and witches." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1396523520

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1396523520
6,953
© 2014, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License The Serpent in the Garden: How early-modern writers and artists depicted devils and witches by Jennifer Goff is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.