The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe » (Reprint)

"There are forces better recognized as belonging to human society than repressed or left to waste away or growl about upon its fringes." So writes Valerie Flint in this powerful work on magic in early medieval Europe. Flint shows how many of the more discerning leaders of the early medieval Church decided to promote non-Christian practices originally condemned as magical--rather than repressing them or leaving them to waste away or "growl." These wise leaders actively and enthusiastically incorporated specific kinds of "magic" into the dominant culture not only to appease the contemporary non-Christian opposition but also to enhance Christianity itself.

Julia Smith - Early Medieval Europe

In this large, brave and erudite book, Valerie Flint sets out to rescue the preternatural aspects of medieval culture from the opprobrium with which Reformation polemicists attacked them, and to understand magic, both 'Christian magic' and non-Christian, on its own terms.... This is a book which will inevitably arouse welcome and refreshing controversy.