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Building Magic

Ritual and Re-enchantment in Post-Medieval Structures

Ceri Houlbrook author Owen Davies author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Published:11th Sep '21

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

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Building Magic cover

This book redresses popular interpretations of concealed objects, enigmatically discovered within the fabric of post-medieval buildings. A wide variety of objects have been found up chimneybreasts, bricked up in walls, and concealed within recesses: old shoes, mummified cats, horse skulls, pierced hearts, to name only some. The most common approach to these finds is to apply a one-size-fits-all analysis and label them survivals and apotropaic (evil-averting) devices. This book reconsiders such interpretations, exploring the invention and reinvention of traditions regarding building magic. The title Building Magic therefore refers to more than practices that alter the fabric of buildings, but also to processes of building magic into our interpretations of the enigmatic material evidence and into our engagements with the buildings we inhabit and frequent.

ISBN: 9783030767648

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 379g

179 pages