Daniel Harms mentioned Owen Davies' book Popular Magic, but it would also be worth noting that Davies has since published a volume titled Grimoires: A History of Magic Books (Oxford University Press, 2009) which I believe might be of even greater use to you.

Good luck with your research, Katherine!

Ethan Doyle White MA

https://independent.academia.edu/EthanDoyleWhite

Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2014 16:07:03 +0000
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Literacy and Magic
To: [log in to unmask]

Great list Dan … David Abrams (1997) ‘The Spell of the Sensuous’ if it’s not already been mentioned.

From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Daniel Harms
Sent: 06 March 2014 14:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Literacy and Magic

Katherine,

I don’t know how far you want to branch out in terms of time for your analysis folklore, but you might try these:

Hayes, Kevin J. Folklore and Book Culture. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1997.

Devlin, Judith. The Superstitious Mind: French Peasants and the Supernatural in the Nineteenth Century. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976.

Davies, Owen. Popular Magic : Cunning Folk in English History. London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007. (also published as Cunning-Folk)

Ellis, Bill. Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2004.

Harms, Dan. “The Role of Grimoires in the Conjure Tradition.” Journal for Academic Study of Magic, no. 5 (April 2009): 41–69.

Johnson, Thomas K. “Tidebast Och Vändelrot : Magical Representations in the Swedish Black Art Book Tradition,” 2010.

Sincerely,

Dan Harms

Reference and Instruction Librarian

SUNY Cortland Memorial Library
P. O. Box 2000

Cortland, NY 13045

(607) 753-4042

From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Katherine Hindley
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2014 5:37 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Literacy and Magic

Dear all,

I wonder if any of you might be able to help me? I'm a PhD student currently in the process of writing a prospectus for my dissertation, which will deal with the ways in which text was used for protection and healing in medieval England. I'm particularly interested in texts being used in ways that didn't require them to be read.

And so my question: might any of you be able to recommend any books or articles which deal with the relationship between magic and literacy? I'd love to find something discussing how forms of magic change (or don't change) as societies become more literate, but any relevant reading would be much appreciated.

Best wishes, and thank you in advance for your help,

Katherine