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The Demonology of King James I is a
seminal work in the history demonology. It was written by King James VI
of Scotland in 1597, before he assumed the throne of England and was
crowned James I. The superstitious Scottish king became convinced that
the Devil was seeking to kill both him and his wife through the agency
of witches. He mounted a crusade to root out witchcraft and execute its
practitioners. His book was designed to help identify witches so that
they could be arrested and executed. In it, James detailed the
practices of witches, and described all aspects of magic and the occult
as they were known in his time. In addition to the Demonology, this book contains the
pamphlet News from Scotland,
in which the trials and executions of the North Berwick Witches are
recounted. It was these trials, over which James himself presided, that
started his holy crusade against witchcraft. (Llewellyn Publications, 2011) |