Daemonologie

E69407

Daemonologie is a 1597 treatise by King James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) that explores and endorses the persecution of witchcraft and demonic practices from a theological and political perspective.


Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf book
treatise
aim to defend the reality of witchcraft
to instruct magistrates and clergy on witchcraft
to justify harsh penalties for witches
author James VI and I
surface form: James I of England

James VI and I
surface form: James VI of Scotland
circulation printed and widely read in Scotland and England
countryOfOrigin Kingdom of Scotland
dedicatedTo none (no formal dedication known)
followedBy later expanded English edition (1603) as part of James I’s writings
genre demonology
political treatise
theological treatise
hasPart first book
fourth book
second book
third book
historicalContext North Berwick witch trials
historicalPeriod early modern period
influenced English witchcraft legislation
Witchcraft Act 1604
early modern witch trials in Scotland
influencedBy Malleus Maleficarum
continental European witchcraft treatises
language Early Modern English
literaryForm philosophical dialogue
mainSubject demonology
magic
necromancy
possession by demons
witch trials
witchcraft
notableFor being one of the most famous royal works on witchcraft
influencing Jacobean attitudes toward witchcraft
publicationDate 1597
religiousAffiliationOfAuthor Presbyterian-leaning Protestantism
religiousContext Reformation
surface form: Protestant Reformation
settingOfDialogue scholarly conversation between interlocutors
structure dialogue
supports belief in demonic activity
persecution of witches
witch trials
theologicalPerspective Calvinism
surface form: Calvinist
topic biblical justification for witch-hunting
classification of demons
legal prosecution of witchcraft
methods of witches
nature of spirits
relationship between magic and heresy

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

James VI and I notableWork Daemonologie