Elite and Popular Perspectives of Witchcraft

The elite perspective is the perspective of those in power. It may be the perspective of the monarchy but it may also be administrative/judicial or that of the church. Popular conceptions are those held by the common people. These two perspectives were not very distinctive because the elite and common people did not live completely separate lives from one another – there was some mixing of culture, and thus there were many similarities in the conceptions held. The main differences between the popular and elite beliefs were regarding the type of accusation of witchcraft: the common people tended to make accusations of maleficium whereas the elites made accusations based on diabolism. Maleficium is magic that is controlled by the person themselves; "It is the performance of harmful deeds by means of some sort of extraordinary, mysterious, occult, preternatural or supernatural power" (p. 4 Levack). Diabolism is worshipping the......

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Title: Elite And Popular Conceptions Of Witchcraft
Approximate Word Count: 1080
Approximate Pages: 5 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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1. Elite And Popular Conceptions Of Witchcraft
   

   Elite and Popular Conceptions of Witchcraft. Elite and Popular Perspectives of
   Witchcraft The elite perspective is the perspective of those in power. ... ...