Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic

A lively historical exploration of “cunning folk,” practitioners of “service magic” who played a significant social, spiritual, and economic role in medieval and early modern Europe. At one time, ordinary people sought the assistance of cunning folks for a host of purposes, from lost objects to sick family members to financial woes. Occupying a social position distinct from saints and witches and spanning the religious, economic, and gender spectrum, those who practiced service magic were resources for their communities—and still have much to teach us about belief, ritual, and uncertainty in our self-proclaimed modern era.