Daemonologie - with Original Illustrations

Very useful for those who wish to invoke James I's policies on hags. Failing that, it makes a decent study document. Concise and to the point. An ideal tome for the witch finder in your family.

Interesting little book to own if you’re into that kind of thing

It's a decent enough book, well made, good delivery, good packaging.The translation of the words wasn't done very well though, probably some computer doing it. It makes it a little difficult to read but once you get used to it it's not too bad.

Strange little book, but if you are studying Macbeth an interesting extra to get Into the mindset of our king at the time.

Interesting. Really enjoyed this.

Excellent thank you

Smooth transaction, speedy delivery, many thanks. A+++ eBayer will use again. A+++

James 1 was clearly a well educated, intelligent man and this was written after the North Berwick witch trials, where witches confessed to plotting to kill him. The spelling of the time may seem strange but you get used to 'u' and 'v' being switched, i.e, 'have' is written as 'haue' and 'use' is 'vse' and there are other differences in spelling. When you first look at the text there's a sense of 'WTF?' then you adapt. Kinda like how we feel when seeing Facebook posts in text speak. Though we find 16th century English easier to read!We assumed the book would be written from James's POV about his fear of witches and the witch panics that haunted Scotland but it's not. It's different chapters of debates between sceptic Philomathes and believer Epistemon. Though Philomathes's arguments are logical and more in line with today's society, he doesn't get a lot of page time. It's mostly a monologue from Epistemon laying down 'evidence' of witches until at the end he convinces Philomathes that the threat from witches is very real. This of course was written in a time when fear of witches plagued Scotland, with several witch panics erupting, and they increased after the 'plot' against James was discovered.It's fantastic that this book is still in print as it shows how people in 1597 thought and what they believed. Our issue with it that it isn't an easy book to read. The arguments are often lost in the wording and some passages took several readings to understand. You have to really concentrate on it. It would have been better if Philomathes had more of the debate, but he seemed to be just a tool for Epistemon to prove his own views were right. It was a very one-sided debate. Epistemon dismissed everything Philomathes said and provided his own 'evidence'. A less biased debate would have been better, but it was written by a man who was truly terrified of witches. It was fascinating to read a book written by a king. It just doesn't happen. Could you imagine Queen Elizabeth II publishing a book about terrorism?

This is a good release to buy if you want to read this book. Includes all three parts + Newes From Scotland (with original illustrations), all in the original spelling. Very interesting read and is not actually "sexist" like some other reviewers has stated. The book describes both men and women involved in supposed witchcraft, necromancy, sorcery and other forms of demonic activity.

Muito interessante!!

Worldly. A look into the history of the treatment of witches

Oh, how young kings often did things they would later wish to disassociate themselves with. This is another shining example of medieval misogyny at its finest, but at the same time, it is also an important tool for the witchcraft historian to help them understand the patterns of thought concerning sorcery and witchcraft at the time. Whilst this book, much like the Malleus, offers up some advice in the detection and persecution of witches that to out modern, 21st century eyes undoubtedly seems strange, unbelievable or just plain insane, it was taken very seriously at the time and does a lot to help us understand how witch persecution evolved in Europe over the centuries.I thought this was a good printing, with a nice cover and perfectly legible print. It was worth the money to buy it in paper format.

My bad, for not realizing that up front. The book arrived fine and in perfectly good shape - nothing wrong at all. Slogging through 16th century Old English is a bit of a chore, but it can be done I suppose. It seemed to help to read fast for some reason, although a number of words from that time can be real head scratchers.