Europe's Inner Demons
Europe’s Inner Demons: The Demonization of Christians in Medieval Christendom was first published in 1975.
It remains in print can be purchased here.
Synopsis:
In this ground breaking book, Cohn traces popular beliefs about witches to their origins. He examines the fantasies that inspired the great European witch-hunt of the 16th and 17th centuries when thousands of innocent people were tortured and burned alive.
It is a fascinating history of the need to imagine antihuman conspiracies and an investigation of how those fantasies made the great European witch-hunt possible. In addition, Professor Cohn's discovery that some influential sources on witch trials were forgeries has revolutionized the field of witchcraft studies, making this one of the most essential books ever written on the subject.
"To be against Norman Cohn is to speak up for sin. No other recent scholar has been as resourceful as he in the attempt to expose, and by exposing eliminate, ignorance, prejudice, intolerance, and hysteria from our society." (Gerald Strauss in review of Europe’s Inner Demons in Commentary)
"It is not too much to say that Professor Cohn has revolutionised the study of the subject - It is a brilliant book." (Bernard Levin Observer)
"An indispensable study." (Robin Lane Fox Financial Times)
"This is a book of real stature which I hope will have a side impact. Only if we begin to understand the horrifying recesses of the human imagination can we prevent the recurrences of those dreadful, irrational persecutions which have so disfigured human history." (Anthony Storr)