Reginald Scot

Reginald Scot

Reginald Scot (c. 1538 - 1599) was the English author of "The Discoverie of Witchcraft", which was published in 1584. It was written to show that witches did not exist, by exposing how (apparently miraculous) feats of magic were done. The book is often deemed the first textbook about conjuring.

Scot believed that the prosecution of those accused of witchcraft was irrational and un-Christian, and he held the Roman Church responsible. All obtainable copies were burned on the accession of James I in 1603 and those remaining are now rare. (In 1586, the Star Chamber greatly tightened the censorship laws.)

The chapter on magic tricks in Scot's Discoverie was plagiarized heavily, and constituted a substantial portion (in some cases, nearly all) of the text in English-language magic books of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The book also narrates stories of strange phenomena in the context of religious convictions. The devil is related with such stories and his ability to absorb people’s souls. The book also narrates stories of magicians with utterly supernatural powers performing in front of courts of kings.

Bibliography

*cite book | first = Anne Lyon | last = Haight | year = 1978 | title = Banned Books, 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D. | others = updated and enl. by Chandler B. Grannis | edition = 4th ed. | publisher = R.R. Bowker | location = New York | id = ISBN 0-8352-1078-2

External links

* [http://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/260scot.html Excerpts from books I and XV of "The Discovery of Witchcraft" from history.hanover.edu]
* [http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/scot16.htm Full text of book XV from the Esoteric Archives]


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  • Reginald Scott — Reginald Scot (* vor 1538; † 9. Oktober 1599; auch Reginald Scott oder Scotte) war ein englischer Schriftsteller, Arzt und Skeptiker von Zauberei und Hexerei. In seinem bekanntesten Werk The Discoverie of Witchcraft von 1584 beschreibt er die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Reginald Scotte — Reginald Scot (* vor 1538; † 9. Oktober 1599; auch Reginald Scott oder Scotte) war ein englischer Schriftsteller, Arzt und Skeptiker von Zauberei und Hexerei. In seinem bekanntesten Werk The Discoverie of Witchcraft von 1584 beschreibt er die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Reginald — ist ein vor allem im englischen Sprachraum verbreiteter männlicher Vorname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft 2 Variationen des Namens 2.1 Bekannte Träger des Vornamens Reginald 2.2 Zwische …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Scot, Reginald — (ca. 1538–1599)    English writer who was one of the few outspoken critics of witch hunts. Reginald Scot was openly derisive of prevailing beliefs that witches were servants of the DEVIL and committed abominable acts in his name. He was skeptical …   Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology

  • SCOT, Reginald — (c. 1538 1599) Reginald Scot, a Kentish writer, produced one of the most exhaustive works criticizing the belief in witchcraft to be available in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Scot s ideas were scorned by King James I,* but the English …   Renaissance and Reformation 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary

  • Scot (disambiguation) — A Scot is a member of an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.Scot may also refer to:People with the given name Scot:* Scot Brantley (born 1958), American football linebacker * Scot Breithaupt (born 1957), American cyclist * Scot Coogan (born… …   Wikipedia

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