Witchcraft in Russia and Ukraine, 1000–1900

A Sourcebook

Valerie A Kivelson editor Christine D Worobec editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Cornell University Press

Published:15th Nov '20

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Witchcraft in Russia and Ukraine, 1000–1900 cover

For any serious scholar of Russian and Ukrainian witchcraft and magic, this volume is a 'must read.'... Scholars of folklore and popular culture also will find much of value.― Folklorica

This sourcebook provides the first systematic overview of witchcraft laws and trials in Russia and Ukraine from medieval times to the late nineteenth century. Witchcraft in Russia and Ukraine, 1000–1900 weaves scholarly commentary with never-before-published primary source materials translated from Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. These sources include the earliest references to witchcraft and sorcery, secular and religious laws regarding witchcraft and possession, full trial transcripts, and a wealth of magical spells. The documents present a rich panorama of daily life and reveal the extraordinary power of magical words.

Editors Valerie A. Kivelson and Christine D. Worobec present new analyses of the workings and evolution of legal systems, the interplay and tensions between church and state, and the prosaic concerns of the women and men involved in witchcraft proceedings. The extended documentary commentaries also explore the shifting boundaries and fraught political relations between Russia and Ukraine. 

This substantial volume by two leading scholars in the field is a major contribution to the study of witchcraft in Russia and Ukraine and to the study of witchcraft in general, which often omits these regions. Overall, this is a tremendously useful book for students of witchcraft history, especially non-Slavists, and all historians of Russian and Ukrainian culture would do well to have it on their bookshelves.

* Russian Review *

[This book] allows us to see dozens of examples[,] each presented in English translation with extensive coverage that provides a great introduction to the topic, even for a person unfamiliar with the subject. [This] is an extremely important and well-made sourcebook that should be read not only by religion and history scholars studying witch trials, but also by a wide range of historians studying the medieval, early modern, and modern ages in general.

* Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft *

For any serious scholar of Russian and Ukrainian witchcraft and magic, this volume is a 'must read.'... Scholars of folklore and popular culture also will find much of value.

* Folklorica *

Valerie Kivelson and Christine Worobec number among the leading scholars who study the history of witchcraft in Russia and Ukraine. Scholars of witchcraft outside the area of Russian and Ukrainian studies can use this volume as an entrée into that milieu.

* Folklorica *

Kivelson and Christine Worobec have succeeded in editing a similarly impressive broad collection of documents that spans nine centuries related to witchcraft in Russia and Ukraine.Kivelson and Worobec have put together a truly astounding piece of scholarship that will be of great service to scholars and students throughout the world wishing to know more about the prevalence and special characteristics of witchcraft in the Eastern Slavic realms of Russia and Ukraine.Witchcraft in Russia and Ukraine is an essential work for specialists in many fields of the cultural and social history of Russia and Ukraine since 1000.

* Slavonic and East European Revi

  • Runner-up for Early Slavic Studies Association Book Prize 2020 (United States)

ISBN: 9781501750649

Dimensions: 254mm x 178mm x 37mm

Weight: 1361g

540 pages