Lizanne Henderson

Scotland, 1670-1740

Witchcraft and Folk Belief in the Age of Enlightenment

In Scotland the subject of the supernatural has been largely ignored by mainstream historians and academics, who considered it to be irrelevant or trivial. This collection of essays, by some of the foremost commentators in the field, seeks to redress the balance by tackling such topics as prophecy, astrology, witchcraft, fairy belief, amulets and charming. Other issues include the role of the supernatural in Enlightenment Scotland, in almanacs, in Gaelic society, and in literature, folktale and legend. This is a multi-disciplinary volume, with contributions utilising historical, literary and folkloristic methodologies and ranging in time from the late medieval period to the present day. It explores the perennial fascination of how people in the past viewed their world.

The Supernatural in Scottish History and Culture

Fantastical Imaginations

Taking an interdisciplinary perspective, Witchcraft and Folk Belief in the Age of Enlightenment represents the first in-depth investigation of Scottish witchcraft and witch belief post-1662, the period of supposed decline of such beliefs, an age which has been referred to as the 'long eighteenth century', coinciding with the Scottish Enlightenment. The late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries were undoubtedly a period of transition and redefinition of what constituted the supernatural, at the interface between folk belief and the philosophies of the learned. For the latter the eradication of such beliefs equated with progress and civilization but for others, such as the devout, witch belief was a matter of faith, such that fear and dread of witches and their craft lasted well beyond the era of the major witch-hunts. This study seeks to illuminate the distinctiveness of the Scottish experience, to assess the impact of enlightenment thought upon witch belief, and to understand how these beliefs operated across all levels of Scottish society.

Edward J. Cowan

The authorities told folk what they ought to believe, but what did they really believe? Throughout Scottish history, people have believed in fairies. They were a part of everyday life, as real as the sunrise, and as incontrovertible as the existence of God. While fairy belief was only a fragment of a much larger complex, the implications of studying this belief tradition are potentially vast, revealing some understanding of the worldview of the people of past centuries. This book, the first modern study of the subject, examines the history and nature of fairy belief, the major themes and motifs, the demonising attack upon the tradition, and the attempted reinstatement of the reality of fairies at the end of the seventeenth century, as well as their place in ballads and in Scottish literature.

A History

Scottish Fairy Belief

Fred Cahir

Katherine Kovacic

Anne Beggs-Sunter

Alison Inglis

Malcolm David Prentis

Jon Addison

Nicola Cousen

Ian D. Clark

Jason Gibson

Bronwyn Eleanor Hughes

Chris McConville

Alex Millmow

Sandi Mitchell

Benjamin Wilkie

Douglas Wilkie

Scots Under the Southern Cross is a collection of essays from speakers at the Scottish Symposium held in Ballarat 9-11 May 2014. The chapters reflect the many styles, themes and formats embracing the Scottish Diaspora in Australia. This publication complements the Art Gallery of Ballarat Exhibition For Auld Lang Syne: Images of Scottish Australia from First Fleet to Federation. The five interrelated sections of Scots Under the Southern Cross are: 'Retrospect', 'The Scots in Aboriginal Australia', 'Biographical Studies of Scottish Australians', 'Scottish Artists on Australia' and 'Commemorating Scotland in Australia'. Essays tell the stories of Scottish immigrants and their successful establishment of economic and cultural networks in Australia. These chapters hopefully will form a basis for expansion into research of the Scottish diaspora and the way the Scots and their descendants have contributed to and adapted to Australian conditions.

Scottish Impressions of Colonial Australia

Scots Under the Southern Cross

Lizanne Henderson

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