Demonology at the Crossroads. The Presence and Significance of Non-Jewish Beliefs within Ashkenazi Folklore Cover Image

Demonology at the Crossroads. The Presence and Significance of Non-Jewish Beliefs within Ashkenazi Folklore
Demonology at the Crossroads. The Presence and Significance of Non-Jewish Beliefs within Ashkenazi Folklore

Author(s): Marek Tuszewicki
Subject(s): History, Jewish studies, Jewish Thought and Philosophy
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: folklore; demonology; medicine; Jewish-Slavic relations

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the subject of popular demonology as a space of symbolic contact between Jewish culture and the largely Slavic surrounding culture(s) in the Eastern Europe. It brings together two main themes – the presence of Christian beliefs about witchcraft, and demonic representations of diseases (e.g. kolten, hartsvorem, etc.) – as seen and evaluated within the Ashkenazi milieu at the turn of the 20th century. Based on print and handwritten sources of various origins, the article presents examples of extensive intercultural contact, emphasizing their scope and meaning, as well as their limitations, in historical/cultural context.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 13
  • Page Range: 93-112
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: English