The Magic of Rogues

“This short scholarly study has two key virtues: it teases apart two muddled-up historiographies and unites two unnecessarily distanced ones. First, it clears a distinct space in the historical record for practitioners of magic, who as religious and legal deviants too often get absorbed into the academic discussion of witches and witch-trials. Secondly, it exploits the fact that 16th-century magical texts tell us little about the people who used them, while legal records of prosecution — magic was first criminalised under the 1542 Witchcraft Act — tell us a lot about the magicians but frustratingly little about the technicalities of their offences.”

—Malcolm Gaskill Fortean Times

“Klaassen and Wright deftly lay bare the mechanics of both the prosecution and the practice of the most transgressive forms of magic on the eve of the Reformation. The Magic of Rogues will be essential reading for anyone interested in the social or legal history of supernatural belief in the early modern world.”

—Francis Young Journal of British Studies

“A worthwhile read for specialists and non-specialists alike, The Magic of Rogues utilizes its limited page count well to question and deconstruct myths surrounding magic use, magic practitioners, and their reception in the courts and public life of early Tudor England.”

—Lindsay Church Ceræ: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies

“This book is a fascinating contribution to historical scholarship on European magic.”

—Patricia Sophie Mayer Religious Studies Review

“The Magic of Rogues pushes for us to reconsider what necromancy was in Tudor England and how different judicial systems varied significantly in their applications of the law. Klaassen and Wright challenge many of the popular beliefs around these systems with historical evidence, while also providing a striking narrative of the Tudor environment. This book is excellent for anyone who is interested in reading historical documents, learning about Tudor England, or reconsidering previously established ideas regarding magic.”

—Austin Moser SEL: Studies in English Literature

“With its innovative combination of magical texts and legal documents, this is an important research contribution and offers an excellent set of annotated sources for teaching not just about magic but also about power, belief, and ambition in Tudor England.”

—Jonathan Barry, author of Witchcraft and Demonology in South-West England, 1640–1789

“The Magic of Rogues undoubtedly enhances our understanding of early Tudor magic, reinforced by a general introduction to the nature of magic in the period and its relationship with the authorities.”

—Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present

Frank Klaassen is Professor of History at the University of Saskatchewan. He is the author of Making Magic in Elizabethan England: Two Early Modern Vernacular Books of Magic and the award-winning The Transformations of Magic: Illicit Learned Magic in the Later Middle Ages and Renaissance, both published by Penn State University Press.

Sharon Hubbs Wright is Associate Professor of History at St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan. She has published numerous articles on late medieval social and legal history.

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