History

The Discovery of Witchcraft

A Skeptical Critique of Witch Trials, Demonology, and Superstition in Elizabethan EnglandBy Reginald Scot

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Length31h 36m

About this audiobook

Published in 1584, Reginald Scot's *The Discovery of Witchcraft* is one of the earliest and most sustained English challenges to the prosecution of witches. Scot examines supposed supernatural acts—prophecy, possession, charms, apparitions, and transformation—while offering fraud, legerdemain, credulity, and natural causes as more plausible explanations. His capacious work combines theological argument, legal and social criticism, popular lore, and vivid descriptions of conjuring tricks. Its polemical yet frequently ironic prose places it within the religious anxieties of the Reformation and the broader European debate over demonology, while its insistence on observation and skeptical inquiry anticipates aspects of emerging natural philosophy. Crucially, Scot attacks not only alleged magic but also the institutions and authorities that profit from fear and persecution. Reginald Scot (c. 1538–1599) was a Kentish landowner and parliamentarian writing amid intense concern about heresy, demonic influence, and witch trials. His familiarity with local society, together with his reading in classical, medical, theological, and legal sources, informed a work designed to expose how ignorance and coercion could convert misfortune into accusations. Scot's humane skepticism challenged the assumptions of learned demonologists and defended the vulnerable against judicial and clerical abuse. The book's controversial reputation endured, provoking responses such as King James VI's *Daemonologie*. Readers interested in the history of skepticism, witchcraft, law, religion, or early modern science will find *The Discovery of Witchcraft* indispensable. It remains both a penetrating historical document and a compelling argument for evidence, intellectual humility, and humane justice.

Witch Fiction Supernatural Rebellion Folklore Magic Political Intrigue Crime

Audiobook details

Rating★★★★ 4.1 (148)

Includes Goodreads, Amazon

GenreHistory

Length31 hrs 36 mins

Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices

FormateBook with Audio

Publish dateDec 30, 2021

LanguageEnglish

1The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon (Annotated)

26The first Chapter

2Dedication

27The second Chapter

3Preface

28The third Chapter

4Introduction

29The fourth Chapter

5Will Of Raynold Scot

30The fift Chapter

Show all chapters

6Abstract of Inquis. Post Mortem, 18 Eliz

31The sixt Chapter

7Abstract of Inquis. P.M., 45 Eliz

32The seventh Chapter

8The Epistle

33The eight Chapter

9To the Honorable, mine especiall good

34The Ninth Chapter

10To the right worshipfull Sir

35The tenth Chapter

11To the right worshipfull his loving friends,[A. viii]. A a 3 Maister Doctor Coldwell Deane of Ro- chester, and Maister Doctor Read- man Archdeacon of Can- turburie, &c

36The eleventh Chapter

12To the Readers

37The twelfe Chapter

13The forren authors used in this Booke

38¶ The third Booke

14The summe of everie chapter con- teined in the sixteene bookes of this disco- verie, with the discourse of divels and spirits annexed thereunto

39The first Chapter

15¶ The first Booke

40The second Chapter

16The first Chapter

41The third Chapter

17The second Chapter