Popular Magic: Cunning-folk in English History

I knew nothing at all about this topic and came across it by chance on another website and thought it would be interesting, and it is. I'm on a second book at the moment and am finding it a bit heavy and academic. Whilst this one is well written and in depth, it is much easier to read and I'll definitely be revisiting it again.

a truly amazing book - brilliantly and fluently written, i couldn't put it down, it made me laugh and filled my head with thoughts and ideas

The book arrived the next day and in very good condition, exactly as described so i'm very pleased. Has also been very useful for my dissertation!

Arrived very late but a good book

Owen Davies is a scholar well known for his books on witchcraft, and POPULAR MAGIC seems to be a spin-off from his work in writing those titles, probably amassed over the years after Davies noted repeated references to 'cunning-folk' who were akin to wizards and witches, but not. These figures acted as spiritual and magical freelancers, willing to assist (mostly) countrymen and women with unbewitching, herbalism, charms and, overwhelming, discovering lost treasure. Davies is an entertaining author who writes in a light and engaging style, although his research is as thorough as any other rigorous academic practitioner. His account weaves its way through early history to cunning-folk vs religion (they were, on the whole, Christian rather than pagan, which separates them from true witches), magical books that frequently turned up in their possessions, the ingredients of their charms, European rivals, and their eventual dying-out in the twentieth century. The account is based on copious trial records and thus features plenty of anecdotes, many of them mildly amusing in tone. A fascinating piece of historiography!

As described

I have an interest in historical witchcraft, and this book is perfect for this. Davies' writing is interesting and erudite, but can easily be read by a casual reader (as I am) and is certainly not dry and dusty! He uses primary sources to describe the role of the cunning man/woman throughout English history, and it is fascinating to find a book which shows the difference between them and the witches of the time. Where witches were always considered malefic, cunning folk were consulted - often for unbewitching. Davies points out that for those who claim to be cunning folk today, they really would have to practise unbewitching, as that was an integral part of their practise. It is also interesting that the cunning folk were essentially Christian folk magic practitioners, having a mixture of astrology/ceremonial magic and folk beliefs (for example, writing a specifically Christian formula and swallowing it as a cure for illness). Anyone interested in Christian magic would do well to read this book (and for that matter Christian Magic, Coptic Texts of Ritual Power by Marvin Meyer). All in all a really interesting read written by an able author and first-class scholar.

This is a great book on the history of the Cunning Folk in Britain (and Europe, briefly) drawing evidence from the Middle Ages right into the twentieth century. Owen Davies uses various sources to draw together his work and relies heavily upon the trials of the Cunning Folk who were prosecuted by their customers. He also looks at inventories, written charms left behind, and occult pamphlets or booklets written within the time period. 'Popular Magic: Cunning-folk in English History' is a nice easy read which, believe me is not always the case when it comes to Historical works which tend to be extremely dry and well, boring. There's a lengthy bibliography at the back of the book as well as being indexed and fully footnoted (notes found at the back of the book). I was taught a history module by Owen Davies at university so I knew when I came across this book that it would be well worth the read! This book will be of particular interest for modern Witches, who would do well to understand the disparities between Witches and the Cunning Folk. For anyone that is unaware, the Cunning Folk were basically Christian folk magic practitioners who sold their services to whoever needed it; they would often remove the bewitchment of so-called 'black witchcraft', curse others in return, cast love spells and perform divinatory readings (among other things mentioned in the book). The book is well arranged and is divided into the following chapter headings: The Cunning Folk and the Law, For Good or Evil?, Who and Why, Services, Books, Written Charms, European Comparisons and Cunning Folk in the Twentieth Century. My favourite chapter was without a doubt the one on books used by the Cunning Folk; which was based on the evidence of one or two inventories of some Cunning Men. It was interesting to me that these people not only used Psalms in their practice but were rather well learned and even read the more avaliable Ceremonial Grimoires -- indeed many made use of astrological observances as well. Davies made an interesting point in the final chapter as to whether modern magic practitioners and Witches had any right to the word 'Cunning Man or Woman'; whether their magical systems and beliefs correspond to that of the Cunning Folk. Having read the book I did come to the conclusion that the Cunning Folk were not witches, nor were they 'white witches' as they were variously described at the time. Modern Witchcraft is very dissimilar to what the Cunning Folk practiced and a lot of witches tend to honour Pagan gods, something the Christian Cunning Folk would have found abhorrent. The Cunning Folk were also in the trade for profit rather than spiritual development which is another huge disparity, indeed the lengths some Cunning Men/Women would go to to secure profit was something that Davies illustrated comprehensively. Some of the anecdotes in the work made me laugh, and 'brought home the history' as it were. I also found myself feeling sorry for a few of the Cunning Men that were tricked out of their wages by crafty clients! Davies theorises on the decline of the Cunning Folk, and why this occurred. He came to the conclusion that they were no longer needed once the age of science and reason had moved in; a time when superstition and fear of witches was no longer of concern for most people, that was the true death of the Cunning Folk as a means of help to the people. This was an interesting point and the final chapter provided some advantageous food for thought -- what the culture may have gained technologically, they also lost spiritually and culturally. Overall, a highly recommended and well researched book about a widely ignored piece of British history.

THey used to be numerous in pre victorian Britain, but now they are not even a handful if they are around at all. Owen Davies has written several well informed books on Witchcraft and Grimoires , several of which I have reviewed. This is also the only other book that I am aware of that deals with the cunning folk on a scholarly level that is available to the modern day reader. Emma Wilby has a another one out which I have reviewed. The two authors cover the same subject but I would say from different vantage points. Owen cover the social integration of Cuhnning folk while Emma Wilby covers the inner spiritual working to an extent. The Cunning Folk were called upon in Old Britain to counter witchcraft . They were also called upon to find lost or stolen goods, to win love and to find treasure. Records of them go back all the way to like the 1400's but they may have been around long before that,they just went by a different name. Wicce was one of those name and it meant wise ones . THe Cunning Folk have always hovered around a grey area in society. Not completely trusted and not completely loved. When suspected witches were being rounded up the cunning folk were left alone. After all it was the cunning folk or white witches who fought against the witches. Yet many church officials did not like the cunning folk because after all they did use magic. In fact the Chrurch despised them even more. Calling themselves white witches gave them a disguises and they were just trickier servants of the devil whther they realized it or not. When the legal maelstrom hit the fan the cunning folk were not entirely immune. They could not be punished ihn secular courts of law but they did receive flogging and banishment from church courts on occasions. They were also sued in civil courts. Their claims of who stole whose property often times did not pan out and this caused social problems. THe wrongly accused would sue them for slander. Oft times their cures did not work and those they accused of witchcraft turned out not to be witches. Later on when laws were promulgated against using magic to find treasure, often ment that cunning folk could find themselves in a bit of a bind especially when there was non treasure to be found. I personally think that many a cunning folk used fraudulent means to drum up business. Often times though they had other careers beside being cunning folk. Which of the two careers generated more income well that is up for grabs. Back i old times it was pretty difficult to distinguish between an astrologer, doctor or cunning man. Cunning folk collected grimoires and displayed them on their shelves. this made them look educated. THey usually were not so ceremonials but they did employ bits and pieces taken from Ceremonial magic book. Written charms were oft tiimes written up and sealed with wax. Kept on the person of benefit for no one else to see they were often times sewn up in clothing . THe written charms had biblical verses and invocations from Grimoires. Compared to other cunning type folks in other parts of Europe penalties against cunning folk wer mild. Now it must noted that it is ann open question as to whether true cunning folk still exist. THere are neo pangs out there who are trying to revive things. But bear in mind Cunning folk were not pagans they were Christians. THeir use died out well because who really is looking for buried treasure? Who is being curesed by witches? If you are sick you go to the doctor.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the Cunning Folk of Great Britain in the modern neo-pagan consciousness. We like to romanticize their existence, thinking of them as eccentric country witches living in spooky yet pretty cottages on the outskirts of charming villages next to mysterious dark forests where they gathered their herbs and worked benevolent magic for an appreciative community. Wrong! Owen Davies does an excellent job dispelling this fantasy by revealing the facts backed by painstaking research about what Cunning-folk actually where and the services they provided. Cunning-folk, most of them male, were magical merchants. They cast divinations, found lost items, identified thieves, compelled love, and most importantly in the minds of people during the period countered the malefic forces blamed for every single unfortunate thing that plagued a life bereft of modern technology and controlled by religious superstition - all for a price of course. Forget any notion of them practicing the surviving remnants of some pagan religion either. Cunning men and women where staunch Christians whose magic gained legitimacy through invocations of the saints and from published grimoires on Renaissance ceremonial magic. It is how they for the most part avoided prosecution and impressed customers. They were never illiterate farmers or laborers. Most were drawn from the lower middle class where literacy at least for males was common and held positions of some authority in the community: merchants who could stop their legitimate work at a moment’s notice to run off to some household. And cunning work was lucrative. Much more so than the conventional occupations available to this class of people, although any smart cunning man always kept his regular job if he didn’t want to find himself in front of some ecclesiastical court. Lastly but certainly not least Owen Davies looks at the claims of a connection between nine covens of witches and the cunning man George Pickingill. These covens being the precursors to Wicca through the New Forest Coven that initiated Gerald Gardner, Thelema via Aleister Crowley, and Traditional Witchcraft through such figures as Robert Cochrane. Davies however could not find any collaborating evidence of such a connection. For these reasons Popular Magic: Cunning-folk in English History is an essential resource for anyone who wishes to learn a well-researched fact-based history of the rise and fall of Cunning-folk in the early modern period.

This is a history of the popular magicians of England. It is a careful, historical look at how the fear of cunningfolk helped create witchcraft laws, how the cunningfolk avoided being persecuted in large numbers, and the interactions between cunningfolk and the people around them. This is not an attempt to romanticize popular magic, but rather is a look at the historical record in search of a historical picture. The author hits this target, but the implications of this sort of work may yet to be felt elsewhere in the study of history. Although the work is not about witchcraft per se, the author demonstrates a complex interaction between cunningfolk, the societies in which they lived, and the passage of laws against them. These laws were at the core of the witch craze in England, but were rarely applied against their intended target. For this reason, those interested in studying this area of history will find a new perspective here which is relevant to the study of the witch craze. I would highly recommend this book to all interested in the topic.

This is a book about Cunning folk. Not witches, not wicca, cunning folk. The people who your ancestors relied on for amulets to protect their cattle, to protect them from witches and heal the gout they had in their feet. This is just the facts ma'am. There is no fancy talk about how they were the last dregs of a pagan religion, how they were smart and wiser than everyone else, just about what they did, the spells they cast and how they managed to LUCK out and not have the church or state hang them. If you want to know the nuts and bolts of what the cunningfolk did and who they were without any romantic frills, this is the book for you. As far as I know, it's THE book on Cunningfolk for factual details.

This is a well-researched book, I will give it that, and compelling as far as a historical timeline. However, as someone else mentioned, there is a little bit of a snide vibe - that these silly people with their magic pebbles and cow spells, were just fiddling around until real science rode into town and everyone finally understood how fanciful they were being. Just because this author does not really get it - he knows the facts sure - but he does not understand and so he has contempt for it. I guess this makes clear to the world he is a serious academic and knows better, much, much better. Anyway, that is why Emma Wilby's book is endlessly superior, she gets the outside and the inside.