I was watching the film "Black Death" and it got me thinking. Are there any good books about witchcraft, paganism etc. in the reign of Henry the Eighth? I had read that there were parts of England that had only the most basic understanding of Christian beliefs, and were still essentially pagan. Can anyone suggest further reading on this?
It's been ages since I read parts of it for the Tudor history class I took in college but I think Keith Thomas' "Religion and the Decline of Magic" covers some of what you're looking for.
ReplyDelete"Religion and the Decline of Magic" was the classic when I was at college, too!
ReplyDeleteOther reads that may be useful are:"Travesties and Transgressions in Tudor and Stuart England" by David Cressy and "The Stripping of the Altars" by Eamon Duffy, which covers many of the superstitious practices in religion before the Reformation.