Charms, Charmers and Charming / Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic (PDF)

PAUL COWDELL National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, University of Sheffield
NATALIA GLUKHOVA Finno-Ugric Languages Department, Mari State University, Mari El, Russian Federation
VLADIMIR GLUKHOV Freelance Researcher
LEE HARING Professor Emeritus of English, Brooklyn College, the City University of New York
RITWA HERJULFSDOTTER Doctoral Candidate of Ethnology, University of Gothenburg and Nordic Museum postgraduate school
DAVID HUNT Professor Emeritus, London South Bank University
HENNI ILOMÄKI Freelance Researcher
VLADIMIR KLYAUS Institute of World Literature, Moscow
MONIKA KROPEJ Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Slovene Ethnology, the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana
LEA OLSAN Professor Emerita of English, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, USA
LOW KOK ON Senior Lecturer, School of Arts of the Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
ÉVA PÓCS Professor Emerita, the University of Pécs, Hungary
JONATHAN ROPER Teaching Fellow in English Language, the University of Leeds,UK
JACQUELINE SIMPSON The Folklore Society
T.M. SMALLWOOD Lecturer in English, the University of Ulster
LAURA STARK Professor of Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
ANDREI TOPORKOV Researcher, Institute of the World Literature, Moscow
MARY TSIKLAURI Associate, the Shota Rustaveli Institute of Georgian Literature, Tbilisi, Georgia
DAIVA VAITKEVI?IEN? Senior Researcher, the Institute of Lithuanian Literature andFolklore
MARIA VIVOD Associate Researcher, the Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques, France

'In this ?New Age' of mass production of manuals of magic and Wicca-books, it is amazing how little scholarship has been produced about practical uses of magic, past and present. This rich book, authored by the leading charm experts, provides us not only with pieces of verbal magic, but also with interpretations, discussions and thoughtful comparisons. Charms, once considered a minor genre of folklore, are here opened up as a powerful source of diverse knowledge about European heritage, human thought, worldview, social conflicts and about magical solutions that charmers have offered to crisis situations worldwide.' - Ülo Valk, Professor of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, University of Tartu, Estonia, and President, International Society for Folk Narrative Research

'Thanks to its eclectic manner this book is a perfect source of information on what has happened in the fi eld of charm-related research lately. Last but not least, those who are interested in specific themes, methods, or types of charms will find the editor's introduction and the detailed table of contents with sub-headlines of essays particularly helpful. Charming, indeed.' - Toms ?encis, Numen

'The volume is essential reading for anyone interested in the study of charms. For the non-converted, it is an excellent introduction to the complexities and subtleties of a fascinating subject. In short, this collection augurs most positively for our Silver Age of charm research, which appears to be in safe hands.' - Bairbre N?? Fhloinn, Folklore