Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Combat magic
(918 words)

1. Invulnerability practices

Many magical practices of the early modern period promised to confer invulnerability. In German-speaking Europe from the early 17th century, the field was generally referred to as the “Passauer Kunst” (“art of Passau”). Soldiers making use of this form of magic hoped that it would make them “hard” or “frozen” (i.e. impossible to wound). Traditionally, magical or religious amulets and medals were used [11] to protect the wearer from injury, a…

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Funke, Nikolas, “Combat magic”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_027629>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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