Demonology And Devil-Lore, Volume 1 by Moncure Daniel Conway

Description

Demonology and Devil-Lore is a book by Moncure Daniel Conway, first published in 1879. This is Volume 1 of 2 Volumes. Written at the height of Victorian scholarship, it explores how cultures across the world imagined demons, devils, and malevolent spirits—and how older gods and nature beings were gradually recast as embodiments of evil. Conway approaches the subject with a comparative, rational lens, drawing on folklore, mythology, religion, and early anthropology to explain the social and psychological roots of demon beliefs. Across its two-volume scope, the work maps recurring motifs — tempters, tricksters, night terrors, household imps — and traces their transformations from ancient myth to medieval theology and modern superstition. Readers interested in demonology, folklore, comparative religion, mythology, occult history, and the anthropology of religion will find a thorough, demystifying study that remains relevant today. Its blend of cultural history and critical inquiry helped situate “the devil” within human storytelling and moral imagination rather than as a purely theological figure.

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