Marko Lamberg

"Den 5 augusti 1676 bränns Malin Matsdotter på bål, dömd för att vara häxa. Per Klingberg läser en nattsvart men viktig bok om ett av få bekräftade fall i Sverige där en människa har bränts levande."
SvD

Häxmodern är historien om Malin Matsdotters tragiska öde, om hur hon föll offer för stockholmarnas jakt på häxor och deras rädsla för svart magi under sensommaren 1676. Den gamla avskyvärda finska trollpackan "Rumpare-Malin" dömdes till att brännas levande - och hon var inte det enda offret för stadsbornas vrede. Bara en kort tid därefter började det gå upp för den kungliga kommissorialrätten att Malins och de andra ödessystrarnas domar, och hela den omfattande klappjakten, var resultatet av påtryckningar och lögner. Hundratals barn, ungdomar och pigor hade uppträtt med fabulerade vittnesmål i rätten - bland dem Malins egna döttrar.

Boken, som bygger på ett omfattande källmaterial, lyfter fram ett mörkt kapitel i det tidigmoderna Sverige där bara en sanning var tillåten. Det handlar om hierarkier i gungning och bristen på rättsskydd, men också om rädslan för förtappelse och för det som var annorlunda.

"Per Klingberg läser en nattsvart men viktig bok om ett av få bekräftade fall i Sverige där en människa har bränts levande."
SvD

"Skickligt och med stor detaljrikedom skriver Marko Lamberg, tidigare professor i Stockholms historia vid Stockholms universitet, om den masshysteri och häxjakt som ägde rum i huvudstaden 1676."
BTJ

Berättelsen om Malin Matsdotter

Häxmodern

Jesse Keskiaho

The field of medieval studies has shifted towards a growing degree of inter- and multidisciplinarity during the recent decades. The concept of medieval studies covers in fact a multitude of disciplines, some of them being loyal to their long-established traditions, whereas others are very new and borrow methods from other branches of the humanities or even from modern natural or social sciences. Since this means not only new possibilities but also new challenges, sources and methodology should obviously concern anyone engaged in the history and culture of the Middle Ages. Regardless of what aspects of the medieval world a scholar is dealing with, his or her study has much to gain from a source-pluralistic approach: in order to be able to understand and even combine different types of sources, a scholar must be aware of what methods are relevant and available and how they can be adapted and applied. This collection of essays presents a comprehensive overview of current and fresh approaches to the history of medieval Europe. The topics include, among other things, the complex relationship between the spoken and the written word, explorations in social and geographic space, layers and mental images perceivable in medieval texts, source edition techniques, relics as visual and tangible items, not to mention the possibilities offered by prosopography, zooarchaelogy and the natural sciences. Also the question and significance of ethics, an ever more important issue in present-day academic circles, is discussed. The contributors to this volume themselves form a very inter- and multidisciplinary team: although they can all be labeled as medievalists, they in fact they work within different disciplines and in several different research units in different countries. Geographically, several parts of Europe are covered in the essays – not only the westernmost part of the continent but also the poorly known eastern and northern parts as well. This diversity makes the collection worthwhile reading for students and scholars alike.

Current Approaches in Medieval Studies

Methods and the Medievalist

Janne Haikari

Marko Hakanen

Written by 19 scholars of history, archaeology, and ethnology, this book takes a multidisciplinary approach to European spaces of the past and the human agents within them. Prior to the Industrial Era, the geography of Europe posed problems but also offered possibilities for its people. Distances created obstacles to communication and state formation, but at the same time, inhabitants and officials in peripheral areas gained room to pursue more independent action, allowing unique customs to flourish. Focusing on northern Europe, this history answers how early modern Europeans - rulers, officials, aristocrats, scholars, priests, and commoners - perceived, utilized, and organized the space around them.

Methodological Approaches to Spatiality

Physical and Cultural Space in Pre-Industrial Europe

the councillor elite in Nordic towns during the Late Middle Ages (c. 1350-1530)

The good men in the council

Prior to the Industrial Era, the geography of Europe posed problems, but also offered possibilities for its people. Distances created obstacles to communication and state formation, but at the same time, inhabitants and officials in peripheral areas gained room to pursue more independent action and allowing unique customs to flourish. In Physical and Cultural Space in Pre-industrial Europe the authors seek to answer how early modern Europeans -- rulers, officials, aristocrats, scholars, priests, and commoners -- perceived, utilised and organised the space around them. The geographic focus is on northern Europe, where distances played a more important role in society than in the densely populated areas of Southern Europe. Written by nineteen scholars of history, archaeology and ethnology, this book takes a multidisciplinary approach to European spaces of the past and the human agents within them.

Physical and Cultural Space in Pre-industrial Europe

Anu Lahtinen

Susanna Niiranen

Keskiajan avain

Marko Lamberg

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