{"product_id":"demon-lovers-witchcraft-sex-and-the-crisis-of-belief-paperback","title":"Demon Lovers: Witchcraft, Sex, and the Crisis of Belief - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eWalter Stephens\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn September 20, 1587, Walpurga Hausmännin of Dillingen in southern Germany was burned at the stake as a witch. Although she had confessed to committing a long list of \u003ci\u003emaleficia\u003c\/i\u003e (deeds of harmful magic), including killing forty-one infants and two mothers in labor, her evil career allegedly began with just one heinous act-sex with a demon. Fornication with demons was a major theme of her trial record, which detailed an almost continuous orgy of sexual excess with her diabolical paramour Federlin \"in many divers places, . . . even in the street by night.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As Walter Stephens demonstrates in \u003ci\u003eDemon Lovers, \u003c\/i\u003e it was not Hausmännin or other so-called witches who were obsessive about sex with demons-instead, a number of devout Christians, including trained theologians, displayed an uncanny preoccupation with the topic during the centuries of the \"witch craze.\" Why? To find out, Stephens conducts a detailed investigation of the first and most influential treatises on witchcraft (written between 1430 and 1530), including the infamous \u003ci\u003eMalleus Maleficarum\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eHammer of Witches\u003c\/i\u003e). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Far from being credulous fools or mindless misogynists, early writers on witchcraft emerge in Stephens's account as rational but reluctant skeptics, trying desperately to resolve contradictions in Christian thought on God, spirits, and sacraments that had bedeviled theologians for centuries. Proof of the physical existence of demons-for instance, through evidence of their intercourse with mortal witches-would provide strong evidence for the reality of the supernatural, the truth of the Bible, and the existence of God. Early modern witchcraft theory reflected a crisis of belief-a crisis that continues to be expressed today in popular debates over angels, Satanic ritual child abuse, and alien abduction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn September 20, 1587, Walpurga Hausmännin of Dillingen in southern Germany was burned at the stake as a witch. Although she had confessed to committing a long list of \u003ci\u003emaleficia\u003c\/i\u003e (deeds of harmful magic), including killing forty--one infants and two mothers in labor, her evil career allegedly began with just one heinous act--sex with a demon. Fornication with demons was a major theme of her trial record, which detailed an almost continuous orgy of sexual excess with her diabolical paramour Federlin in many divers places, . . . even in the street by night. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs Walter Stephens demonstrates in \u003ci\u003eDemon Lovers, \u003c\/i\u003e it was not Hausmännin or other so-called witches who were obsessive about sex with demons--instead, a number of devout Christians, including trained theologians, displayed an uncanny preoccupation with the topic during the centuries of the witch craze. Why? To find out, Stephens conducts a detailed investigation of the first and most influential treatises on witchcraft (written between 1430 and 1530), including the infamous \u003ci\u003eMalleus Maleficarum\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eHammer of Witches\u003c\/i\u003e). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFar from being credulous fools or mindless misogynists, early writers on witchcraft emerge in Stephens's account as rational but reluctant skeptics, trying desperately to resolve contradictions in Christian thought on God, spirits, and sacraments that had bedeviled theologians for centuries. Proof of the physical existence of demons--for instance, through evidence of their intercourse with mortal witches--would provide strong evidence for the reality of the supernatural, the truth of the Bible, and the existence of God. Early modern witchcraft theory reflected a crisis of belief--a crisis that continues to be expressed today in popular debates over angels, Satanic ritual child abuse, and alien abduction.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWalter Stephens\u003c\/b\u003e is the Charles S. Singleton Professor of Italian Studies at The Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eGiants in Those Days: Folklore, Ancient History\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNationalism\u003c\/i\u003e and coeditor of \u003ci\u003eDiscourses of Authority in Medieval and Renaissance Literature\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 478\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.01 x 9.12 x 6.04 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 15, 2003\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45284914626662,"sku":"9780226772622","price":72.52,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/Vk5DMnZlKzJ6SEpJcFhvem9CY1F5QT09.webp?v=1773910226","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/demon-lovers-witchcraft-sex-and-the-crisis-of-belief-paperback","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}