1. These Familiar Things? Witchcraft, War Crimes and Prince Rupert "the Devil".
- Author
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Callow, John
- Subjects
- *
BRITISH Civil War, 1642-1649 , *WAR propaganda , *NONFICTION , *SEVENTEENTH century , *HISTORY - Abstract
This review article provides an examination, viewed through the prism of Mark Stoyle's "The Black Legend of Prince Rupert's Dog," of the reputation of Prince Rupert of the Rhine during the English Civil War and Restoration. In particular, it focuses upon the injection of violence into civil society by the Prince and his troops; and the manner in which the experience of war re-activated fears and theories of witchcraft, bringing to prominence the figure of the familiar spirit. Through the comparison of recent biographical studies with the primary sources that illuminate and underpin Rupert's career, the Prince emerges as a more equivocal figure but also, arguably, as a far more capable statesman and military commander. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...
- Published
- 2014
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