Enemies Of God: The Witch-Hunt In Scotland

Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings

A landmark work of social and historical scholarship, Enemies of God: The Witch-Hunt in Scotland chronicles the systematic persecution of accused witches in early modern Scotland, situating the trials within the broader contexts of state formation, religious ideology, and gender politics. Christina Larner argues with compelling authority that the Scottish witch-hunt was not a product of mass hysteria or superstition alone, but a deliberate instrument of social control wielded by a centralizing state and a zealous Kirk. With meticulous archival research, the work uncovers the mechanisms by which thousands of predominantly female suspects were identified, tortured, and executed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Larner's analysis presents the persecution as deeply intertwined with patriarchal anxieties and the criminalization of female independence, offering a feminist-inflected reading that was groundbreaking at the time of its publication. Rigorous yet accessible, this study remains an essential text for anyone seeking to understand the intersection of power, religion, and gender in early modern European history.