Introduction: The science of demons

Machielsen, Jan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8492-0263 2026. Introduction: The science of demons. Machielsen, Jan, ed. The Science of Demons: Early Modern Authors Facing Witchcraft and the Devil, 2 edition. Routledge, pp. 1-17. (10.4324/9781003476153-1)

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Abstract

‘What thinke yee of these strange newes, which now onelie furnishes purpose to al men at their meeting: I meane of these Witches?’ asked Philomathes. 1 He was the more ignorant of the two speakers in °King James VI's° Daemonologie (1597) but, as his name suggests, he was keen to learn more. (Philomathes means ‘someone who loves to learn things’ in Ancient Greek.) His colleague Epistemon, whose name literally meant ‘someone who understands what he is talking about’ and who was clearly a stand-in for the Scottish king himself, was only too happy to help. James VI of Scotland and (later) I of England (1566-1625) loved word games such as these and, as we have adopted the title of his work for our own, it seems appropriate that we start with him. Demonology, a word first coined by the king, while probably intended as a conversation about demons (see P. G. Maxwell-Stuart's chapter in this volume), has come to signify nothing more or less than the science (logos) of demons.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Global Humanities Schools > History, Archaeology and Religion
Publisher:	Routledge
ISBN:	9781032759135
Last Modified:	01 Sep 2026 10:17
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/189263

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