This page was created in the Spring of 2008 by Dr. Eskin's ENG206: English Literature classes. The assignment asked students to consider Early Modern magic and its relationship to Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus. There are links to sites and discussions of the sites and/or the topic. If you have any questions or problems with a link, please contact Dr. Eskin.

The European culture felt that magic was dangerous and possessed by the devil. If a person believed in magic they were part of an evil cult that was looked down on in society. This article helps understand certain reactions within Marlowe’s play because it discusses the demonic methods of magic. Also, it talks about the rise of magic because of the strong tension present in religion and science. People began to study more and more magic to see what it was really about. -- Mary Rose Heston

I found this web site really interesting because it went into depth with the different reasons of why women were accused of witchcraft. One of the points that it had brought up was that witchcraft wasn't necessarily the work of the devil but us keeping the balance of good and evil. Which is what I have heard of before and not just on this website. And correct me if I'm wrong but this is a part of the "Deism" religion that is very much so related to Christianity. I know that the difference between the two is that one believes that the good and bad are two equal powers trying to be balance in our world but Christianity says that "bad" actually came from a "good" source but just had selfish and cruel intentions. Another good point that I did not know about witchcraft was that some believed it was "white magic" and witches weren't necessarily bad. Kind of threw me for a loop. But relating back to Marlowe, in our text book it said that he had written a play based on a character who had sold his soul to the devil (and by the way some people don't believe in the devil but see it as an icon of bad). I think that this has to do with the fact that the reformation and new laws of Religion in Europe were evolving and well we had more reasons now to blame people for the bad. And maybe at the time that this was written more people saw witches as a possibility of a "bad" and wanted them killed. --Nancy Armenta

History of Modern Magic at Sunnie Bunniez

This article explains that because of Christianity magic and magicians were not [popular. Christian's would not stand for magic because people who associated themselves where classified to be devil worshipers.

Chevalier Joseph Pinetti was known as the first magician in 1782. --O'Neal Partee

Over the centuries the thought of witches and magic finally started to be accepted and the were not executed.

In the 4^th Century Christians did not believe in magicians and wizards, they condemned them. They were thought to be evil and devil worshipers. In the middle ages anyone who was looked upon as a witch or a magician were put into prison an eventually killed.

In the 16^th Century people started to accept them and they showed the audiences different illusions and magic tricks.

In the 19^th Century magicians used animals and different lighting and electromagnets to create more of an illusion. The Great Houdini did his famous escape act and his “Chinese Water Torture Cell.”

This helped me understand reactions from the play because it gives me a more understanding of why they didn’t like magicians and witches. They thought they were evil and worshiped the devil. Over the years they came to realize that is not what they were trying to do. They were just trying to entertain the audience with their different tricks and stunts. It wasn’t anything to do with the devil and they did not have any supernatural powers. --Karissa Bailey

Marlowe's Dr. Faustus at wikipedia

magic was not very popular during the fourth century when Christianity became widespread as the dominant religion. Those who did magic were thought to be devil worshipers. However the 19th century brought out magicians with technological advances.

It's relationship with the play is in that it probably goes along with what they already believed. These views probably played a pretty good influence in writing the story. However it probably caused a lot of talk. The idea that a man is infested with so much greed for power and materialistic objects that he warrants selling his soul to the devil...and that the fashion that he gets these advancements is through magic performed by the devil.

Whitney Brewer

Women and Witchcraft at Wicca for the Rest of Us

In a brief summary of the article it states that the majority of the women accused of witchcraft would have been elderly and single. Also a large number of the women accused were done so during "witch hunts". It also says that while a large number of the women that were accused did not attempt to spread the idea that they were witches some did relish in the title even using it to their advantage. -- Aaron Nixon

Witchcraft in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (run by Leo Ruickbie)

This site is an archive of modern magic and witchcraft. It has information on what was happening in that time period with the struggle with religion and witchcraft and the persecution on these people. Mr. Ruickbie has written a book about things that have been left out of the stories you hear. On the website it includes a spell-guide for those interested, and a link that leads you to places where you can learn magic as well, and many other interesting links. Overall I believe this site has very good information on this time period and its dealing with modern magic. --Michael Taveras

Witchcraft in the Middle Ages from a Canadian 8th Grade project

Most of early modern Europe did not look kindly on magic. It was thought to be evil and to be connected with Satan. People blamed witches for things like bad luck, disasters, and illnesses; including the Black Plague. The Church especially hated magic. They conducted witch hunts and often executed those who were accused.
Marlow's plays may have attracted so much attention because of the taboo they contained. In an attempt to better understand what they fear, people may have been drawn to the characters who were unafraid of sin and magic that Marlowe had created. --Magen Carothers

Magic at Answers.com
From the information provided on this website I am able to determine that for the most part people did not oppose the thought of magic and they did not see it as a terribly evil idea. In many way magic was similar to the Christian faith. One example is that both magic and Christianity agreed on the presence of spiritual entities such as demons and angels; they also believed in the immense power of the spoken and written word. A number of Christian prayers and 'formulas' were the basis for similar such formulas for magical purposes. One distinctive difference between magic and Christianity is the fact that magic attempts to make contact with and control supernatural forces while Christian followers believe in the divine and do not wish to control them.
Magical ideas were used in medicinal practices and because of its believed relation to medicine, medicine was subsequently studied closely with astrology. Heinrich Agrippa is quoted as stating that every part of the human body corresponds to 'some sign, some star, some intelligence, some divine name,' giving more reason for the study of human anatomy and medicine to be closely related to astronomy.

After reading Act 1 of Marlowe's work and studying what people believed of magic during the time, I understand the reactions of Faustus' friends and acquaintances. Of course the Good and Evil Angels will have their perspective ideas concerning the subject of magic and Faustus' plans with the devil. The First and Second Scholars are less inclined to understand his intentions in dealing with the devil in order to learn magic and they wish to help him change his new ways. Valdes and Cornelius are said to be interested in the ways of magic themselves and they are enthusiastic about Faustus' decision. I can understand, however, the reasons in which Faustus is interested in understanding and controlling magic. As stated above, magic and Christianity were similar in many ways and because of magic certain subjects were studied more in depth (i.e., astrology).

Different characters in the play dislike the idea of magic because they also understand that Faustus is giving into the workings of the devil in order to understand and perform his magic and they are strong believers of the Christian faith. Other characters are more interested in learning about magic than keeping true to God-their greed has overpowered their faith.
--Sarah MacDonald.

It was the most helpful website I could find on the topic of early modern magic. This website outlines a definition on the word magic, as well as a brief history of the topic. In early modern Europe, the culture was mainly superstitious and slightly skeptical of magic. Religion caused people believe magic was something demonic. The article goes on to say that scholars and scientists during this time were skeptical of it's effects.
-Mike Berg

From what I grasped, during the middle ages magic was believed to be a form a paganism. If caught performing any kind of magic, persecution was the punishment. -- Jay Bing

Google Books: Magic (link doesn't work)
This site is showing a book made up of 16 essays on the magic done in the Renaissance period. It covers the human and magic relationship, religious ritual, and says we need to rid ourselves of our definition with demon experiences. All in all it seems like a pretty cool book about the Renaissance magic used.
Carlos Hernandez

“Marlowe, Magic and Alchemy”

“The Victims of the Witch hunt History Would Rather Forget”

During the early modern era in America and Europe there was the study of magic and the dark side. A “witch craze” soon began, which consisted of the execution of thousands of citizens who were assumed witches. Some scholars believe the witch hunts were directed against women, and therefore idealizing patriarchy in a torn world. To the citizens in Europe, the existence of evil magic was a fact unlike in America, where it was more of a belief and there were presumptions. The practice of such magic led to torture and prosecution if the accused were to plead guilty or innocent. There was really no easy way out. However, Europe and America were in such chaos at this time that maybe death was an easy way out of the wicked delusion.

Marlowe’s play about magic and the devil reflects on the century’s change in religious and spiritual trust and consciousness. Some reactions to his play were positive because many showed interest and curiosity in the new ideas and doubts of the time. Others were negative because of the cultural view of magic and witchcraft. The history and outlook of witchcraft in the early modern era further guides my understanding of the reactions to and within Marlowe’s work.

--Sonya Recupero

SPIRITS, WITCHES, & SCIENCE: WHY THE RISE OF SCIENCE ENCOURAGED BELIEF IN THE SUPERNATURAL IN 17TH-CENTURY ENGLAND By Richard Olson

This guy sounds pretty legitimate. He has a bibliography at the end of his page, so his sources look good. I thought this website was appropriate because it talks a lot about demons, possession, the church's take on magic, those kinds of things. I think it kind of parallels Dr. Faustus with all the demon stuff and selling your soul to the devil stuff.

--Seth Spencer

Demonology Notebook at the Center for the Study of Complex Systems (UMichigan)
People who claimed to have had an experience with demons or any kind of super natural powers were looked at very skeptically. Any of these claims or practices were related back to demons, and this was the very beginning of the "witch hunt."

--Jenn Bowers

"Salem" at National Geographic

This story was about New Englanders who believed that any thing that happened which could not be explained naturally was because of an evil supernatural force, and they ended up killing many innocent people because of things that could not be explain.

Back then the culture felt that magic was evil and people who were believed to be practicing magic or were going under supernatural crisis were thought to be witches and were killed. The way that this will help us understand reactions to and within Marlowe's play is that both happened at about the same time period. The people were experiencing about the same things from their cultures.

-Elsa Brunache

History of Witchcraft at Buzzle
Through the course of our history, there have been traces of persecution for the art of witchcraft; periods such as the Inquisition have evidence for persecuting any form of magic and witchcraft. It was not until the early 1500s when it became a historical issue. Due to the many witchcraft trials and common traces of witchery in Europe, the new country of America adopted the same concerns and began the obsessive hunts for witchery as well; henceforth, in New England, America the historical Salem Witchcraft Trials began. --Taylor Alter

Heresy and Witchcraft Book Review at FindArticles (no longer available 11/08)

This site summarizes Heresy, Magic, and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by Gary K. Waite. Waite wants to answer the question, “What did early modern Europeans believe about the Devil?” Waite focuses on trials in which the accused were charged with having contracts with the Devil. This just so happens to be the focus of Marlowe’s play! According to this website, “in all cases, it was the popular fear of the Devil himself and the demonical conspiracy that pushed people to act against a real or imagined enemy.” Society as a whole did not accept magic, which probably turned Marlowe’s Faustus into quite a scandal. However, sometimes scandals are popular and controversy is exciting. Does anyone really want to read or watch a play in which every character follows the rules?

--Amanda Glickman

In the time of the early modern period, witchcraft and magic were more or less misunderstood. The learnings of most "wizards" and alchemists were merely accidental discoveries of chemistry, and logic. The wizards of old became the scientists of new. However, there was not an overwhelming excitement for the new knowledge, in fact, the findings were looked down upon. Uneducated people thought that the magic was evil and the scientists must have sold their soul to the devil in order for them to find such miracle discoveries. Many witches were unfairly tried and in some cases executed.
--Dane Supple

In this article several things are being discussed, starting with heresy, moving on to witchcraft and finally talking about early magic. I think one of the main points we can get out of this is that all of this this were accusations put upon people that went against the church at that time, anything that went out of the ordinary, and or accuse any of the churches traditions to be wrong was branded as doing the work of the devil and being a witch. The majority of the people back then seen magic as something that was wrong, early medicine was looked upon as being potions from witches. Dr. Faustus declares "A sound magician is a mighty god," Faustus rejects magic because it does not work, but his goal is the goal of the magician, which is to extend man's power to the extend where anything is possible.

--Mauricio Barbery

European Magic at Wikipedia

Paranormal at Wikipedia

History of Magic

During the Early Modern period in Europe, there existed many different views on the acceptability of magic. Studies of "high magic", such as alchemy, were often seen as benevolent practices and considered acceptable fields of intellectual pursuit (particularly among the bourgeoisie and nobility). At this same time, however, there was a widespread fear of witchcraft, a malevolent form of magic characterized (during this period) by entering into a pact with the Devil. The acceptability of "high" magical studies would have made the notion believable that a respected doctor would abandon his scientific studies and study magic instead. The rampant fear of witchcraft and of consorting with Devil would have made audiences take very seriously Dr. Faustus's own pact and eventual demise. --Will Smith

How did the culture feel about magic?
While it was completely shunned by the church a great deal of magic was being experimented in by the commoners. An during the council of Basel (Third-largest city in Switzerland) where theologians preached the problems and jeopardy of practicing witchcraft and magic after this the witch hunts began. Even though the populous seen this a an astonishing science and practiced it. Many of the trials and convictions were outside the city in the rural areas.

How might this help us understand reactions to and within Marlowe’s play?
In many ways I see him as someone trying hard to get a rise out of the public and dabbled with these controversial ideas in his plays to do this. With many of the people watching the play being those involved in this I don’t see much of a strong reaction from the public but more so the aristocracy and the theologians that felt that by even being shown this could somehow affect you negatively. I see parallels to this as with some people feeling that showing people images at certain ages or someone watching more risk a things could corrupt them. Most of all you have to understand that for you to see something like this and let it take a hold of you ad control you are completely two different things.

--Ian Sheffield

Magic was used back then in attempts to cure the sick and to control human issues and affairs. People were very superstitious. It was believed that Jews were demons because they were blamed for the death of Jesus. In 1492 they were kicked out of Spain. Church members were terrified of witchcraft. They distanced themselves from anyone that was associated with magic.

--Pierre Monplaisir

Above is the link for a website that gives the synopsis for the book Heresy, Magic and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by Gary Waite. The book is about how the strictness of the Catholic church viewed anything outside of itself as heresy and evil--Protestants, Jews, and witches alike. Witchcraft involved trying to heal and bring fertility. Rumors grew that witches flew at night to be a part of demonic rituals. Much suspicion surrounded the practice.

Ashley Wilson

This is my web site, it talks about how magic was a spiritual and religious experience. It was and in some places still is a very controversial topic exceptionally in the old days when they burned people that practiced witchcraft.
--Amanda Inman

Magic at Early Modern Web

I think it was pretty clear that although the culture was definitely shaped by magic. It was shaped in a way to stop magic from coming out. Everyone was afraid, almost anal about witch craft and many deaths came from it. --Stef Shaw

History of Magic, Witchcraft and Heresy

Short Synopsis

A brief history of magic and witch trials in early Europe, naming important people who were involved, such as Queen Elizabeth for signing the Witchcraft Act and Reginald Scot for writing the controversial book Discovery of Witchcraft. This article explains that many witches were murdered after forced confessions. The notorious act of "dunking the witch" is also described. In short, many women died.

The culture felt that magic was evil and going against God and this would explain the negative reactions and fears expressed in Marlowe's play regarding magic and his want of being able to have such power. Continually Faustus is warned that he will be going against God and therefore will be in hell, even if it is only a state of mind.

-Lauren Gilmore

History at the MagicWebChannel

In the middle ages there was a large variety of magic. There was witchcraft, sorcery, soothsayers etc. Each of the different mediums were used for different reasons. Usually the wealthy could hire the “magicians” to help them in various ways. Some palaces, castles, and so forth would have a resident magician working for them. --Nicolle DiRaimo

Witchcraft at Wikipedia

According to Wikipedia, on witchcraft it depended on the person. The religious audience often thought of witch craft as demonic and associated it with the devil such as Dr. Faustus tale; others thought of witchcraft as a mean of expression and saw it as beneficiary and morally correct.

Relating this to the tragic tale of Dr. Faustus I see it in a way that shows witchcraft in both lights good/bad. In the play they demonstrate black magic and associated it with the devil and how he has to sign his soul away it orders to gain that power. Yet, the reason why he did it in his initial intention was because it gave himself satisfaction. I believe that in Marlowe’s play. He might try to convey the good and bad of witch craft with a deeper meaning. --Vivian Sanchez

Anthony Grafton's lecture on Early Modern Magic from 2002

A very informative--if specialized--discussion of the technologies of early modern magic. Thanks to Patrick Rice who found this one while searching for other things!

last updated: 1/08