Download or read book The Encyclopedia of Fantasy written by John Clute and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 1999-03-15 with total page 1110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like its companion volume, "The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction", this massive reference of 4,000 entries covers all aspects of fantasy, from literature to art.
Download or read book The Creatures of Arator A E written by Joseph Barresi and published by midnightrise. This book was released on 2010-08-28 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world of Arator. A place of myth, magic, legends, and heroes. Populated within this world are creatures, monsters, and beings that defy explanation and the imagination. Described in this full colored and illustrated volume are the monsters and creatures of the world of Arator. From how they live, to how they fight, even down to their inner biology, this tomb is an invaluable resource to your Arcanum gaming world which brings it more to life with the denizens that populate it.
Download or read book In the Company of Demons written by Armando Maggi and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-05-12 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who are the familiar spirits of classical culture and what is their relationship to Christian demons? In its interpretation of Latin and Greek culture, Christianity contends that Satan is behind all classical deities, semi-gods, and spiritual creatures, including the gods of the household, the lares and penates.But with In the Company of Demons, the world’s leading demonologist Armando Maggi argues that the great thinkers of the Italian Renaissance had a more nuanced and perhaps less sinister interpretation of these creatures or spiritual bodies. Maggi leads us straight to the heart of what Italian Renaissance culture thought familiar spirits were. Through close readings of Giovan Francesco Pico della Mirandola, Strozzi Cigogna, Pompeo della Barba, Ludovico Sinistrari, and others, we find that these spirits or demons speak through their sudden and striking appearances—their very bodies seen as metaphors to be interpreted. The form of the body, Maggi explains, relies on the spirits’ knowledge of their human interlocutors’ pasts. But their core trait is compassion, and sometimes their odd, eerie arrivals are seen as harbingers or warnings to protect us. It comes as no surprise then that when spiritual beings distort the natural world to communicate, it is vital that we begin to listen.
Download or read book Historical Dictionary of Witchcraft written by Jonathan Bryan Durrant and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers the history of witchcraft from 1750 B.C.E. though the modern day. Includes a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography featuring cross-referenced entries on witch hunts, witchcraft trials, and related practices around the world.
Download or read book The Malleus Maleficarum written by Heinrich Kramer and published by Cosimo, Inc.. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A handbook for hunting and punishing witches to assist the Inquisition and Church in exterminating undesirables. Mostly a compilation of superstition and folklore, the book was taken very seriously at the time it was written in the 15th century and became a kind of spiritual law book used by judges to determine the guilt of the accused"--From publisher description.
Download or read book The Malleus Maleficarum of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger written by Heinrich Institoris and published by Book Tree. This book was released on 2000 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
Download or read book They Believed That written by William E. Burns and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2022-12-01 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This encyclopedia is the perfect guide to the weird, magical, superstitious, and supernatural beliefs of people from all over the world. This book is devoted to those human beliefs that fall in the "gray zone" between science, religion, and everyday life-call them superstitious, supernatural, magical, or just wrong. In an often incomprehensible world where lightning or plague could end life quickly or drought could condemn a poor family to agonizing death, superstitious beliefs gave people a feeling of understanding or even control. They have continued to shape societies and cultures ever since. This book covers a range of superstitious, supernatural, and otherwise unusual beliefs from the ancient world to the early 19th century. More than 100 entries explain beliefs, discuss historical evidence, and explain how each belief differs across cultures. This book is a perfect gateway for anyone curious about superstitious and magical beliefs, with topics ranging from the everyday, such as dogs and iron, to legendary figures, such as Hermes Trismegistus and the Yellow Emperor.
Download or read book Children of God written by Mary Doria Russell and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Children of God, Mary Doria Russell further establishes herself as one of the most innovative, entertaining and philosophically provocative novelists writing today. The only member of the original mission to the planet Rakhat to return to Earth, Father Emilio Sandoz has barely begun to recover from his ordeal when the So-ciety of Jesus calls upon him for help in preparing for another mission to Alpha Centauri. Despite his objections and fear, he cannot escape his past or the future. Old friends, new discoveries and difficult questions await Emilio as he struggles for inner peace and understanding in a moral universe whose boundaries now extend beyond the solar system and whose future lies with children born in a faraway place. Strikingly original, richly plotted, replete with memorable characters and filled with humanity and humor, Children of God is an unforgettable and uplifting novel that is a potent successor to The Sparrow and a startlingly imaginative adventure for newcomers to Mary Doria Russell’s special literary magic.
Download or read book King Incubus written by Valerie Willis and published by 4 Horsemen Publications, Inc.. This book was released on 2022-06-15 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Was it self-proclaimed destiny or an unforetold prophecy? Tony finds himself facing new urges and new problems like the paranormal beings he serves since his change. With trouble on the horizon, Lillith has ghosted, and he's left with Batlle Goddess Badbh for his training. When a ghost from the past appears, a former King will teach the new King how to be true to both his lineages. Meanwhile, no one knows when Cedric and the gang will emerge from the Otherworld. Lillith will have to face what she fears most: true love. Desperate to prepare Tony to take Cedric's place, she sends him to seek out the Salamandra for a weapon worthy of slaying Gods and Titans. Meanwhile, she goes on her own quest to unfold more about her own dark secrets before it could unravel centuries of preparing for a civil war no mortal or immortal has ever seen. Will Tony's training be enough to protect him, or will Lillith have to use her magic to protect her newfound love? Readers and Lovers of Paranormal Romances with elements of shifters, vampires, demons, and mythology will find this refreshing with an interesting blend of known and unknown creatures for myths of Greek, Russian, Slavic, Caribbean, and South American origins!
Download or read book The Incubus written by Kawengo Samachai and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2012 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tanyaradzwa, who because of his love for a beautiful young woman, Nadia, is unknowingly recruited into a secret sect of incubi. Nadia is sent away from home by her parents after a late tryst with Tanyaradzwa and demand $400.00 as compensation before they can accept her back. Desperate and broke, Tanyaradzwa seeks help from Mr Sinyoka, a moneylender and fellow employee who, unbeknownst to him, bears his father a grudge over a past slight. He gets tainted money from Mr Sinyoka, and from the moment he accepts it, a chain of bizarre incidents start unfolding.
Download or read book The Apprentice s Incubus written by Diana Waters and published by eXtasy Books. This book was released on with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Used to life on the street, Finn never expected to be hired by a magician after saving him from a rival street gang—let alone a magician with a penchant for book hoarding and performing occasionally-exploding experiments. But Master Kestrall is a kind-hearted man, even if he sends Finn on far too many errands to the bookstore. After all, Finn is infatuated with Jonti, the master bookkeeper’s handsome apprentice. The only problem is, Finn has absolutely no experience in matters of the body and no idea how to go about acting upon his feelings. That all changes when, on one of his regular trips to the Crow’s Nest, Finn brings home a certain book that holds some very rare knowledge indeed—and when Finn accidentally-on-purpose summons an incubus into his midst, nothing will ever be the same again.
Download or read book The Egyptian Sketch Book written by Charles Godfrey Leland and published by . This book was released on 1874 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Demon Lovers written by Walter Stephens and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2003-08-15 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On September 20, 1587, Walpurga Hausmännin of Dillingen in southern Germany was burned at the stake as a witch. Although she had confessed to committing a long list of maleficia (deeds of harmful magic), including killing forty—one infants and two mothers in labor, her evil career allegedly began with just one heinous act—sex with a demon. Fornication with demons was a major theme of her trial record, which detailed an almost continuous orgy of sexual excess with her diabolical paramour Federlin "in many divers places, . . . even in the street by night." As Walter Stephens demonstrates in Demon Lovers, it was not Hausmännin or other so-called witches who were obsessive about sex with demons—instead, a number of devout Christians, including trained theologians, displayed an uncanny preoccupation with the topic during the centuries of the "witch craze." Why? To find out, Stephens conducts a detailed investigation of the first and most influential treatises on witchcraft (written between 1430 and 1530), including the infamous Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches). Far from being credulous fools or mindless misogynists, early writers on witchcraft emerge in Stephens's account as rational but reluctant skeptics, trying desperately to resolve contradictions in Christian thought on God, spirits, and sacraments that had bedeviled theologians for centuries. Proof of the physical existence of demons—for instance, through evidence of their intercourse with mortal witches—would provide strong evidence for the reality of the supernatural, the truth of the Bible, and the existence of God. Early modern witchcraft theory reflected a crisis of belief—a crisis that continues to be expressed today in popular debates over angels, Satanic ritual child abuse, and alien abduction.
Download or read book The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters written by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-01 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From vampires and demons to ghosts and zombies, interest in monsters in literature, film, and popular culture has never been stronger. This concise Encyclopedia provides scholars and students with a comprehensive and authoritative A-Z of monsters throughout the ages. It is the first major reference book on monsters for the scholarly market. Over 200 entries written by experts in the field are accompanied by an overview introduction by the editor. Generic entries such as 'ghost' and 'vampire' are cross-listed with important specific manifestations of that monster. In addition to monsters appearing in English-language literature and film, the Encyclopedia also includes significant monsters in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, African and Middle Eastern traditions. Alphabetically organized, the entries each feature suggestions for further reading. The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters is an invaluable resource for all students and scholars and an essential addition to library reference shelves.
Download or read book The Quest for the Christ Child in the Later Middle Ages written by Mary Dzon and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2017-01-25 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning in the twelfth century, clergy and laity alike started wondering with intensity about the historical and developmental details of Jesus' early life. Was the Christ Child like other children, whose characteristics and capabilities depended on their age? Was he sweet and tender, or formidable and powerful? Not finding sufficient information in the Gospels, which are almost completely silent about Jesus' childhood, medieval Christians turned to centuries-old apocryphal texts for answers. In The Quest for the Christ Child in the Later Middle Ages, Mary Dzon demonstrates how these apocryphal legends fostered a vibrant and creative medieval piety. Popular tales about the Christ Child entertained the laity and at the same time were reviled by some members of the intellectual elite of the church. In either case, such legends, so persistent, left their mark on theological, devotional, and literary texts. The Cistercian abbot Aelred of Rievaulx urged his monastic readers to imitate the Christ Child's development through spiritual growth; Francis of Assisi encouraged his followers to emulate the Christ Child's poverty and rusticity; Thomas Aquinas, for his part, believed that apocryphal stories about the Christ Child would encourage youths to be presumptuous, while Birgitta of Sweden provided pious alternatives in her many Marian revelations. Through close readings of such writings, Dzon explores the continued transmission and appeal of apocryphal legends throughout the Middle Ages and demonstrates the significant impact that the Christ Child had in shaping the medieval religious imagination.
Download or read book The Malleus Maleficarum written by and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2013-01-18 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Malleus Maleficarum is one of the best-known treatises dealing with the problem of what to do with witches. It was written in 1487 by a Dominican inquisitor, Heinrich Institoris, following his failure to prosecute a number of women for witchcraft, it is in many ways a highly personal document, full of frustration at official complacency in the face of a spiritual threat, as well as being a practical guide for law-officers who have to deal with a cunning, dangerous enemy. Combining theological discussion, illustrative anecdotes, and useful advice for those involved in suppressing witchcraft, its influence on witchcraft studies has been extensive. The only previous translation into English, that by Montague Summers produced in 1928, is full of inaccuracies. It is written in a style almost unreadable nowadays, and is unfortunately coloured by his personal agenda. This new edited translation, with an introductory essay setting witchcraft, Institoris, and the Malleus into clear, readable English, corrects Summers’ mistakes and offers a lean, unvarnished version of what Institoris actually wrote. It will undoubtedly become the standard translation of this important and controversial late-medieval text.
Download or read book Rape and Ravishment in the Literature of Medieval England written by Corinne J. Saunders and published by Boydell & Brewer. This book was released on 2001 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The study then considers the treatment of rape and ravishment in a range of literary genres: in hagiography, female saints are repeatedly threatened with rape; the stories of Lucretia and Helen underpin legendary history; the acts of rape and ravishment challenge and shape chivalric order in romance; otherworldly rapes result in the conception of romance heroes. The final two chapters examine the ways in which Malory and Chaucer write and rewrite rape and ravishment."--BOOK JACKET.
