Skeptical demonology and witch trial critique
Reginald Scot
1538 – 1599
Reginald Scot was an English country gentleman who published The Discoverie of Witchcraft in 1584, a systematic rationalist refutation of beliefs in witchcraft, demons, and sorcery. His work, drawing on over 200 authorities, argued that accusations of witchcraft were delusions and legal injustices, and it became an inadvertent compendium of magical lore widely consulted by later occultists.
Solomonic MagicRenaissance MagicRationalism vs. SuperstitionSkepticismSolomonic Magic (documented)Legal Injustice in Trialstalisman creationDemonology CritiquesWitchcraftCeremonial MagicExposure of Magical TrickeryDemonic Possessionspirit conjurationSkepticism of Witchcraft
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