CHAPTER I

ILLUSTRATIONS OF BELIEF IN MAGIC IN MEDIÆVAL AND IN EARLY MODERN TIMES PAGE General belief in witchcraft, in astrology, and in the existence of magicians 11 Even the most educated men believed in astrology 12 Further illustration of such beliefs among men of learning, and even among scientists 13 Isidore and Bede 14 Alexander of Neckam 15 Michael Scot 16 Roger Bacon 18 Bacon’s acceptance of astrology 18 Bacon’s belief in occult influence 19 Vincent de Beauvais, Bernard Gordon, Albertus Magnus, Arnald of Villanova 19 Cabalistic doctrines of Renaissance scholars 20 Jerome Cardan 22 Paracelsus and Tycho Brahe 22 Francis Bacon 23 Summary of these beliefs 23 Question whether they are all closely connected 24 Question whether they were regarded by their authors as magic 25 Importance of magic 26