Darren Oldridge: ‘The Supernatural in Tudor and Stuart England’

When did Thomas Vaughan publish ‘Magica Adamica’?

1650

What was Thomas Vaughan’s 1650 book named?

‘Magica Adamica’

How did Thomas Vaughan define magic in his 1650 work Magia Adamica?

Distinguished between good magic, “a gift of God transmitted from the time of Adam,” and corrupted magic, “a perverse tradition encouraged by the Devil”

What does “supernatural” mean, and when did the term “supernaturalis” become common?

Means “above nature” (supra naturam), and the term “supernaturalis” came into common use in the 13th century

How did the doctrine of providence shape early modern beliefs about causation?

Providence was divided into “general” (God’s daily maintenance of the world) and “special” (divine interventions)

What was Robert Burton’s 1621 book named?

The Anatomy of Melancholy

When did Robert Burton publish The Anatomy of Melancholy?

1621

How did Robert Burton explain mental illness in The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621)?

Attributed unhealthy states of mind to black bile (imbalance of humours), The melancholy brain could produce distressing hallucinations that suggested the presence of demons

Which Protestant writers did Burton echo the views of?

Reginald Scot and Samuel Harsnett

What did Burton also acknowledge?

Satan used black bile as an indirect means to trouble the human mind - This humour was “his ordinary engine” for inducing despair, and consequently named  “the Devil’s bath”

What was Black Bile also refered to as?

The Devil’s Bath

How did Burton’s ideas challenge modern assumptions about magical thinking in the early modern period?

People in EMB didn’t lack explanations for the complexities of the human experience but rather didn't limit them to the human realm

What did Peter Marshall and Alexandra Walsham refer to this as?

a “supernatural hyper-reality threaded through the natural order of creation”

What happened in Richard Leake’s 1599 plague sermon in Westmorland?

Leake presented four explanations for the plague, including both medical and magical ones, before declaring it divine punishment—illustrating coexistence of rational and supernatural reasoning

Who gave a plague sermon in 1599 in Westmorland?

Richard Leake

What did Sola Scriptura mean?

‘by scripture alone’

What did John Firth claim about scripture in 1531?

“perfect touchstone”

Who claimed scripture was a “perfect touchstone” in 1531?

John Firth

What were the effects of sola scriptura?

abolition of purgatory and the cult of saints, expelling many spirits from the Catholic cosmos including ghosts

Did the Reformation eliminate belief in angels and demons?

No, sola scriptura reinforced belief in them. Scripture solidified their presence in the cosmos, even as other spirits were cast out