1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910502633703321

Autore

Davies Owen <1948->

Titolo

Building Magic : Ritual and Re-enchantment in Post-Medieval Structures / / by Owen Davies, Ceri Houlbrook

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2021

ISBN

3-030-76765-5

Edizione

[1st ed. 2021.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (180 pages)

Collana

Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic, , 2731-5649

Disciplina

133.44

133.4409

Soggetti

Social history

Civilization - History

Great Britain - History

Social History

Cultural History

History of Britain and Ireland

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

1. Folk science meets folk memory: Acoustics and illumination  -- 2. Bodies: Mummified but not Ancient -- 3. Folk science meets folk memory: Acoustics and illumination  -- 4. Sealing Memories -- 5. Seeking protection: Objects of power -- 6. Luck and wellbeing in the home -- 7. Curators and custodians of the revealed concealed.

Sommario/riassunto

This book redresses popular interpretations of concealed objects, enigmatically discovered within the fabric of post-medieval buildings. A wide variety of objects have been found up chimneybreasts, bricked up in walls, and concealed within recesses: old shoes, mummified cats, horse skulls, pierced hearts, to name only some. The most common approach to these finds is to apply a one-size-fits-all analysis and label them survivals and apotropaic (evil-averting) devices. This book reconsiders such interpretations, exploring the invention and reinvention of traditions regarding building magic. The title Building Magic therefore refers to more than practices that alter the fabric of buildings, but also to processes of building magic into our



interpretations of the enigmatic material evidence and into our engagements with the buildings we inhabit and frequent.