A supernatural war

by Owen Davies

Paper Book, 2018

Status

Available

Call number

133.08

Genres

General Nonfiction

History

Religion & Spirituality

Nonfiction

Collection

Don

Publication

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2018.

Description

It was a commonly expressed view during the First World War that the conflict had seen a major revival of 'superstitious' beliefs and practices. Churches expressed concerns about the wearing of talismans and amulets, the international press paid considerable interest to the pronouncements of astrologers and prophets, and the authorities in several countries periodically clamped down on fortune tellers and mediums due to concerns over their effect on public morale. Out on the battlefields, soldiers of all nations sought to protect themselves through magical and religious rituals, and, on the home front, people sought out psychics and occult practitioners for news of the fate of their distant loved ones or communication with their spirits. Even away from concerns about the war, suspected witches continued to be abused and people continued to resort to magic and magical practitioners for personal protection, love, and success.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Lukerik

A huge amount of research must have gone into this book. It apparently details briefly every notable example of magical belief and practice during the First World War. Really interesting stuff.

It’s not exactly the book I had wanted to read. I got interested in the subject because I noticed that

under the pressure of the pandemic some people have started to perform little acts of attempted magic. I was looking for a book that would classify these behaviours by type and give me some sort of technical terminology. This is very much a book about the ‘what’ rather than the ‘why’. This is of course not the author’s fault. Neither is it the publisher’s. My copy is lacking the dust cover so I had to judge by the contents page. I think what I’m looking for is a book on the psychology of religion.

That said, I’m glad I read it. It really is just very interesting generally and the sections on battlefield luck and the little gods and amulets the soldiers carried is relevant to our current situation.

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