Wallace Notestein (1878–1969)

Popularized historical account of the judicial prosecution of witchcraft, as well as changing public attitudes to it. Published in 1911, it builds its case on the hubristic absolute rationality of its day. Only pundits write with such surety these days. And reviewers.

Basic outline- the belief in witchcraft came from outside of England, was made a felony by James I, and gradually fell into disrepute. Many of those accused of witchcraft and hanged where defenseless crones the locals either wanted rid of or who really did do nasty stuff like poisoning, etc. The smart set eventually ridiculed the superstitious beliefs of country people and a few brave judges and clerics stopped the persecution. As the number of witch trials fell, the number of individual people charged with unlawful acts rose, making it seem like those despised old women and brutish men were scapegoats for a multitude of the sins of others.

Strikes me as curious that so many children pointed the finger at so many adults.

Notestein discounts all supernatural phenomena.… (mere)

1734 The English People on the Eve of Colonization 1603-1630, by Wallace Notestein (read 31 Jul 1982) This volume in the New American Nation Series was published in 1954 and is a general thing, attempting to tell what England was like in the period named. It is so generalized one wonders if one will retain anything from it. I was glad I am living now and not then. But the book helps me picture what things were really like in those crucial years of the early 1600's when this continent's destiny was being shaped.… (mere)