Concern over Superstition in Late Medieval Europe
Michael D. Bailey
Late medieval Europeans inhabited a world replete with spells, charms, blessings, and other rites intended to invoke manipulate supernatural power. Whether these people regarded such practices as ‘magical’ or not, they typically believed them be capable of producing real effects. 1 Innumerable existed, mostly achieve basic goals, heal ward off disease, avoid misfortune. 2 Despite simple, quotidian, beneficial supposed effects, could raise grave concerns spark significant debate. At the beginning fifteenth century, for example, woman in upper Rhineland, diocese Speyer, was worried about her son. He had injured his finger, while she knew various that might him, feared were impermissible. Certain clergy hometown Neustadt an der Haardt, less than fifteen miles west strongly condemned practices....
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