Sorry to suck you in, but I think the book is important enough to consider reading even if the subject is not one of interest to you generaly. Lest you dismiss this as the maundering thoughts of a 'dungeon bunny' - I am thoroughly pedestrian in my thoughts regarding the subject - I believe in efficiency of spells and the like as much as I do the tooth farie, or the leprachauns pot of gold. My interest is purely academic, and centers on how the subject was viewed in Medieval Society, and exactly what beliefs were commonly held.

As a person sriving for a LH level interpretation, I try to stress to the public that 15th century people were people just like them, with similar hopes, fears, and desires - I have always found that this helps make the subject come alive - so to speak, when trying to educate, and gives people a commonality they can then 'feel' for the people of the Middle Ages.

That said, although they were people just like us, their method of thought, what they took for granted, and what was common belief differs often radicaly from a modern perspective. In example, the cultured man of the mid 15th century of a certain social status would have been trained to think in terms of allegory, and a great deal of literaure was written in this form for their entertainment, which is unfortunately lost to us. I took the time to trudge my way through Oliver de La Marches "Le Chevalier Delibere", and instead of viewing the excersise as a mind-numbing chore, I was struck by how I was in essence handicapped in reading it. For the Medieval reader, each allegorical figure would paint a rich picture for the reader, the poem summoning a rich tapestry of mental visions that I can never understand or enjoy. I felt like a man who was colour-blind looking at a painting by Monet or van Gogh.

As a modern man, one of the things I have the most trouble reconciling myself with is the commonly held beliefs of the general populace.

Richard Kieckhefer in this work explores explains exactly what 'magic' consisted of, the beliefs of Medieval Europ being traced from their origins in antiquity, catagorized in a logical fashion, and most importantly how these different catagories were viewed by the Church, the Educated, and the common people.

What is so strikingly different from our own age is the very wide spread of belief on a fairly deep level. The question amongst the educated was not "did magic exist?" but rather "was all magic demonic in origin, and therefore necromancy thinly disguised, or was there such a thing as natural magic?".

The thing that struck me the most was the hin line between magic and religion during he middle ages amongst the common people. Not only did this belief permeate their lives, but it would have been the unusual person who never had anyhing to do with it at all - nearly every physicians book, or miscaleny for running a household will have contained therein a simple 'charm' - to increase the benificient effects of an herbal remidy or the like.

As some of you know, I customarily have a religious inscription on my cuirasse - both my old and new ones. The very words in either case, spoken with 'words of power' additionaly added, and my prayer becomes an invocation. And I never thought any part of my kit might get me in trouble with the inquisition.

The book also traces the legality, and the methods of investigation and punishment throughout the course of the Middle Ages. There are quite a few interesting photos of objecs within, including a 'magic' ring of 14th century Italian origin, with a toadstone caubechon, and a pair of veres of scripture engraved on it.

I think "getting into the mind" of a Medieval person is one of the hardest things to do, and one of the most important things to try to do if you are striving for a first-person impression. This book can go a long way toward opening the readers eyes to a very ailien process of thought to our day and age, and it is written in a scholarly fashion, that manages to be entertaining at the same time.

I highly recommend the book.

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