The Reception of Reginald Scot’s Discovery of Witchcraft: Witchcraft, Magic, and Radical Religion

This article considers the reception of Reginald Scot’s skeptical Discouerie of Witchcraft (1584). As well as the surprisingly mixed reception of the first edition, this article examines the publication of the second edition. The latter appeared in 1651, long after Scot’s death; the possible reasons for its publication have never been examined. Not only interest in witchcraft but other kinds of magic and even religious radicalism may have been involved. Such an examination offers an insight into the possible ways in which Scot’s work was read, and suggests that the work had an impact beyond the field of witchcraft theory.