'wicked Arts': Witchcraft and Magic Trials in Southern Sweden, 1635-1754 (Cultures, Beliefs and Traditions) - Tapa dura

Sorlins bok blir [...] oerhort intressant ur ett rattshistoriskt perspektiv da han ger en god bild av den tidigmoderna rattsliga processen nar det kommer till bevis, upplagg etc. Vidare intressant blir boken da Sorlin lyfter fram forestallningar som ofta har hamnat i skuggan av den tidigare forskningens elitperspektiv. Har visar han hur dessa trosforestallningar kunde ta sig olika uttryck och visar hur den tidigmoderna manniskan tolkade och trodde sig kunna paverka sin vardag. Genom sina tolkningsnycklar for Sorlin fram material som inte endast utgar fran en elitistisk utgangspunkt och darmed visar hur dessa trosforestallningar kan forstas ur olika perspektiv. Forestallningar som till stor del kan knytas till den vardagliga manniskan som tidigare ofta fatt sta tillbaka for den "stora historien". Christoffer Ahlman, Kirjallisuutta 2012, pp 190-192

This study deals with witchcraft and magic in a legal, social and cultural context, with an interpretation based on an extensive body of Swedish sources comprising more than 350 cases involving 880 individuals. A majority of the trials took place during the 1700's. The prosecution of witches was characterized by leniency resulting only in a few death sentences; a majority of the cases were minor events concerning more often innocuous magic rather than the witches' sabbath or maleficent witchcraft. By focusing on the few prosecutions of maleficent witchcraft, this study promotes a critical discussion of how social and cultural perceptions of local witchcraft were generated by the interactions in the legal process, providing us with new insights into early modern European witchcraft.