The Discoverie of Witchcraft

Record summary

Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft is a large English polemic challenging witchcraft prosecutions, alleged magical powers, and popular credulity. It includes discussions of conjuring, illusion, cunning practices, and excerpts or descriptions of magical materials, making it valuable for comparing skeptical discourse with the traditions it records. Its relationship to practical magic is complex: some passages preserve details of contemporary beliefs while arguing against their supernatural interpretation. Researchers should separate Scot’s own argument from reported customs, translations, and satirical or demonstrative material.