What do you think?
Rate this book
The Demonology of King James I: Includes the Original Text of Daemonologie and News from Scotland
Written by King James I and published in 1597, the original edition of Demonology is widely regarded as one of the most interesting and controversial religious writings in history, yet because it is written in the language of its day, it has been notoriously difficult to understand.
Now occult scholar Donald Tyson has modernized and annotated the original text, making this historically important work accessible to contemporary readers. Also deciphered here, for the first time, is the anonymous tract News from Scotland, an account of the North Berwick witch trials over which King James presided.
Tyson examines King James' obsession with witches and their alleged attempts on his life, and offers a knowledgeable and sympathetic look at the details of magick and witchcraft in the Jacobean period. Demonology features historical woodcut illustrations and includes the original old English texts in their entirety. This reference work is the key to an essential source text on seventeenth-century witchcraft and the Scottish witch trials
Now occult scholar Donald Tyson has modernized and annotated the original text, making this historically important work accessible to contemporary readers. Also deciphered here, for the first time, is the anonymous tract News from Scotland, an account of the North Berwick witch trials over which King James presided.
Tyson examines King James' obsession with witches and their alleged attempts on his life, and offers a knowledgeable and sympathetic look at the details of magick and witchcraft in the Jacobean period. Demonology features historical woodcut illustrations and includes the original old English texts in their entirety. This reference work is the key to an essential source text on seventeenth-century witchcraft and the Scottish witch trials
360 pages, Paperback
Published April 8, 2011
53 people are currently reading
719 people want to read
About the author
James VI and I
205 books33 followersJames VI, the son of Mary Stuart, queen, reigned from 1567 over Scotland and from 1603 succeeded as James I, the heir of Elizabeth I of England; his belief in the divine right and his attempts to abolish Parliament and to suppress Presbyterianism created resentment that led to the Civil War, but from Hebrew and Greek, his auspices sponsored the translation of the
King James Bible
, published in 1611.
People forced Mary Stuart, the Catholic monarch and queen of Scotland, in 1567 to abdicate in favor of James, her son.
His sovereignty extended of Ireland. This poet and religious scholar wrote of politics. He convened the known Hampton court conference.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_V...
People forced Mary Stuart, the Catholic monarch and queen of Scotland, in 1567 to abdicate in favor of James, her son.
His sovereignty extended of Ireland. This poet and religious scholar wrote of politics. He convened the known Hampton court conference.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_V...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 11, 2019
King James' Daemonologie is basically the shorter version of The Hammer of Witches but in the form of a Socratic dialogue, with less external texts supporting the arguments or conclusions, and 110 years later. Daemonologie uses many of the same arguments that are in The Hammer of Witches: women are more frequently witches because they're inferior to men, suggests the torturing and killing of witches no matter the age or gender, and states that incubi and succubi are real. King James also mentions werewolves (I don't think I ever considered them a part of Christian doctrine) and fairies (considered to most likely be demonic spirits). Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this text is the fact that a king wrote on the subject of demonology. The most frightening thing isn't this text in particular, but the included "News from Scotland" article, which describes a woman having been accused, tortured and killed for witchcraft after helping sick individuals get healthier; unfortunately, it goes on to mention quite a lot of other individuals were accused of taking part with this woman in witchcraft and their lives ended with the same fate. Donald Tyson does an excellent job of modernizing the text and adds tons of notes.
February 12, 2020
First let me say that King James, YES, THAT King James, was a paranoid psychotic with delusions of grandeur. Demonology is his book, written in his hand, and News From Scotland is the historical retelling of The New Berwick witch trials, 1591, where James is personally responsible for the torture and execution of more than 50 alleged witches, mostly women, for conspiring to kill him and his bride.
What Donald Tyson does in this examination of Demonology and News From Scotland is to edit the texts for modern language and interject with historical accounts and parallel or competing ideas at the time of King James writing and the New Berwick witch trail. He does a remarkable job.
This is a topic of interest for me because I believe the struggle is real, but I now no more believe that James was an expert on the supernatural any more than Vernon Wayne Howell, aka David Koresh, was the messiah.
Although only personally responsible for about 50 deaths, it is James’ anti witchcraft laws that will result in the persecution and slaughter of thousands more for the next 150 years including the famous Salem Witch Trials.
What Donald Tyson does in this examination of Demonology and News From Scotland is to edit the texts for modern language and interject with historical accounts and parallel or competing ideas at the time of King James writing and the New Berwick witch trail. He does a remarkable job.
This is a topic of interest for me because I believe the struggle is real, but I now no more believe that James was an expert on the supernatural any more than Vernon Wayne Howell, aka David Koresh, was the messiah.
Although only personally responsible for about 50 deaths, it is James’ anti witchcraft laws that will result in the persecution and slaughter of thousands more for the next 150 years including the famous Salem Witch Trials.
November 25, 2019
If you're researching 16th and 17th century witch trials in Scotland and England, you definitely need this book. The text is maintained as close to the original as possible, and a translation with updated language is provided to accompany, including Newes from Scotland in full with woodcuts and notations.
August 19, 2021
Interesting and well organized. But if I was more crazy this would probably be my Bible.....
May 16, 2016
Book Review
The book I picked to read was “The Demonology of King James I”. The reason I picked this book was because I was always interested in learning about demons,witchcraft, and the witch hunts that happened back then And also because it had a amazing cover art in the front of it. While picking out a book to read, I stumble upon this one and the reviews were saying it was 4 and half stars total. Read the reviews about the book, all were positive so which made me decide to get the book. I was really blown away how this much book sucked me in and as I read the book it started with a preface about James and his life before going into the actual book. I really like how the explained the life of James, what he went through growing up, and how he got into the witch hunting. As I read the preface , I saw how James became a man of God and how always thought of himself on a white shining horse. As it said in the book King James was born weak and couldn't learn how to walk until years later, one thing that strict me was that King James became a man of knowledge because he was weak And obese. When I started reading the first few chapters of the book, I really liked how it started with two characters discussing and arguing about witchcraft,witch hunts and how the Devil lured people to being a witch. A thing that I didn't like about this book was that the Preface was a bit too long and should of been shorted by like twenty pages.another thing I didn't like is that the words were pretty advanced and I had to pause for moments to comprehend what the words meant but that's also fault on me for not knowing the words in the first place. Another thing I didn't like was how that book slowly turned a little boring as you got into the chapters, yes at first it really sucks you in to read it but doesn't really keep you sucked in. Those are some of the cons I have found in this amazing book, well from what I have read and analyzed. I really liked how before you read the book, it has a page explaining the figures that the book shows and where they are from. I really recommend this book to who are intrigued by demons, witches, and other evil things. This book is also for the people who are interested in King James life and his take on demonology, it gets more interesting as you read on the preface. The actual chapters are just discussions of witchcraft and the first chapters were explaining the origins of the words relating to magic and necromancy. Also explained how witches were picked to rule under the Devil’s hand. This is my book review on “The Demonology of King James I” by Donald Tyson
The book I picked to read was “The Demonology of King James I”. The reason I picked this book was because I was always interested in learning about demons,witchcraft, and the witch hunts that happened back then And also because it had a amazing cover art in the front of it. While picking out a book to read, I stumble upon this one and the reviews were saying it was 4 and half stars total. Read the reviews about the book, all were positive so which made me decide to get the book. I was really blown away how this much book sucked me in and as I read the book it started with a preface about James and his life before going into the actual book. I really like how the explained the life of James, what he went through growing up, and how he got into the witch hunting. As I read the preface , I saw how James became a man of God and how always thought of himself on a white shining horse. As it said in the book King James was born weak and couldn't learn how to walk until years later, one thing that strict me was that King James became a man of knowledge because he was weak And obese. When I started reading the first few chapters of the book, I really liked how it started with two characters discussing and arguing about witchcraft,witch hunts and how the Devil lured people to being a witch. A thing that I didn't like about this book was that the Preface was a bit too long and should of been shorted by like twenty pages.another thing I didn't like is that the words were pretty advanced and I had to pause for moments to comprehend what the words meant but that's also fault on me for not knowing the words in the first place. Another thing I didn't like was how that book slowly turned a little boring as you got into the chapters, yes at first it really sucks you in to read it but doesn't really keep you sucked in. Those are some of the cons I have found in this amazing book, well from what I have read and analyzed. I really liked how before you read the book, it has a page explaining the figures that the book shows and where they are from. I really recommend this book to who are intrigued by demons, witches, and other evil things. This book is also for the people who are interested in King James life and his take on demonology, it gets more interesting as you read on the preface. The actual chapters are just discussions of witchcraft and the first chapters were explaining the origins of the words relating to magic and necromancy. Also explained how witches were picked to rule under the Devil’s hand. This is my book review on “The Demonology of King James I” by Donald Tyson
November 19, 2022
This is not really a book about demons per se, but rather an extended discussion with the intent of persuading the reader that witches are real.
I was very, very pleased with this book. When I labored at translating other documents of the time which - like "Daemonologie" - is also in the Scottish dialect of the era of Shakespeare, and I can tell you that it was surprisingly difficult. This is as faithful translation of the "Daemonologie" and "News from Scotland" into modern English as you are ever likely to find.
I have been looking for a translation of the text of "The Newes from Scotland" for years now. It is a fascinating compendium of the infamous North Berwick witch trials in Scotland which was written at the time or shortly after. This is a beautiful translation! I really appreciated the inclusion of the woodcuts from the pamphlet, and found Tyson's theory of why it was published in the first place as very plausible.
The "Daemonologie" itself; which forms the bulk of the book, is a fairly easy read. I will say that the criticisms that James was not the greatest scholar are here evident. It is written in the style of two men of the time debating with each other as to whether witchcraft is real. But it is very clear that James is pitching to his strengths with the questions and comments made by the man who doesn't believe. That is to say that the replies are obviously concepts important to James, and which he felt confident enough about to print.
But; as I said, you can breeze through "Daemonologie" easily, and the addition of the substantive appendices is impressive and helpful. I gave the book 5 stars for it's top notch translations and for including other documents which shed a light more fully on the main text. There are other compelling texts in the appendices, such as the "Tollbooth Speech" by James the VI/I and more.
Of the various editions now in print, this one is the most informative and comprehensive. As a document of early witch trials, the appendix including the "Newes from Scotland" gives a fascinating account of a series of trials which introduced many of the themes which reappear in witch trials for centuries to come.
This book is money very well spent and my hat is off to Tyson for this labor of love.
I was very, very pleased with this book. When I labored at translating other documents of the time which - like "Daemonologie" - is also in the Scottish dialect of the era of Shakespeare, and I can tell you that it was surprisingly difficult. This is as faithful translation of the "Daemonologie" and "News from Scotland" into modern English as you are ever likely to find.
I have been looking for a translation of the text of "The Newes from Scotland" for years now. It is a fascinating compendium of the infamous North Berwick witch trials in Scotland which was written at the time or shortly after. This is a beautiful translation! I really appreciated the inclusion of the woodcuts from the pamphlet, and found Tyson's theory of why it was published in the first place as very plausible.
The "Daemonologie" itself; which forms the bulk of the book, is a fairly easy read. I will say that the criticisms that James was not the greatest scholar are here evident. It is written in the style of two men of the time debating with each other as to whether witchcraft is real. But it is very clear that James is pitching to his strengths with the questions and comments made by the man who doesn't believe. That is to say that the replies are obviously concepts important to James, and which he felt confident enough about to print.
But; as I said, you can breeze through "Daemonologie" easily, and the addition of the substantive appendices is impressive and helpful. I gave the book 5 stars for it's top notch translations and for including other documents which shed a light more fully on the main text. There are other compelling texts in the appendices, such as the "Tollbooth Speech" by James the VI/I and more.
Of the various editions now in print, this one is the most informative and comprehensive. As a document of early witch trials, the appendix including the "Newes from Scotland" gives a fascinating account of a series of trials which introduced many of the themes which reappear in witch trials for centuries to come.
This book is money very well spent and my hat is off to Tyson for this labor of love.
November 15, 2017
King James tract is phenomenal and disturbing at once. It’s a great piece of literature and a study of theological and political rhetoric. Tyson’s Edition is good in that it modernizes the spelling making it easier to read, but his commentaries, introduction, and other materials are terrible. He has obvious biases toward witchcraft and against King James which askew the notes. It should not be taken as a piece of academic scholarship.
February 20, 2018
I like the work that Tyson has done in editing this text, but the text itself is horrible.
Full review here.
Full review here.
December 28, 2021
Not for academic use
February 5, 2025
Not at all what I was expecting. I expected to read stories of witches and witchcraft in Scotland and England during the time of King James VI/I and the trials and tribulations of witches.
But instead you have the story told by 2 characters, Philomathes and Epistemon. These two characters debate the various topics of magic, sorcery, witchcraft and demonology. The book is a philosophical dialogue between the two and reads as a political and theological dissertation.
But instead you have the story told by 2 characters, Philomathes and Epistemon. These two characters debate the various topics of magic, sorcery, witchcraft and demonology. The book is a philosophical dialogue between the two and reads as a political and theological dissertation.
April 1, 2024
“You must first remember to lay the ground, that I told you be-fore; which is, that it is no power inherent in the circles, or in the holiness of the names of God blasphemously used, nor in whatsoever rites or ceremonies at that time used, that either can raise any infernal spirit or yet limit him perforce within or without these circles. For it is he only, the father of all lies, who having first of all prescribed that form of doing, feigning himself to be commanded and restrained thereby, will be loath to pass the bounds of these in-junctions; as well thereby to make them glory in the empiring over him (as I said before), as likewise to make himself so to be trusted in these little things, that he may have the better commodity thereafter, to deceive them in the end with a trick once and for all, I mean the everlasting perdition of their soul and body.”
—
“And as they deceive their scholars in this, so do they in imprinting in them the opinion that there are so many princes, dukes, and kings among them, every one commanding fewer or more legions, and empiring in diverse arts, and quarters of the earth. For though that I will not deny that there be a form of order among the angels in heaven, and consequently, was among them before their fall, yet either that they brook the same since then, or that God will permit us to know by damned devils such heavenly mysteries of his, which he would not reveal to us neither by Scripture nor prophets, I think no Christian will once think it. But to the contrary, of all such mysteries as he hath closed up with his seal of secrecy, it becomes us to be contented with a humble ignorance, they being things not necessary for our salvation.”
—
“As these forms wherein Satan obliges himself to the greatest of the magicians are wonderful curious, so are the effects correspondent unto the same. For he will oblige himself to teach them arts and sciences, which he may easily do, being so learned a knave as he is; to carry them news from any part of the world, which the agility of a spirit may easily perform; to reveal to them the secrets of any persons, so being they be once spoken: for the thought, none knows but God, except so far as you may guess by their countenance, as one who is doubtlessly learned enough in the physiognomy. Yea, he will make his scholars to creep in credit with princes, by foretelling them many great things, part true, part false, for if all were false he would lose credit at all hands; but always doubtsome, as his oracles were. For no man doubts but he is a thief, and his agility (as I spoke before) makes him to come [with] such speed.
For this is the difference between God's miracles and the Devil's: God is a creator, what he makes appear in miracle, it is so in effect, as Moses's rod being cast down, was no doubt turned into a natural serpent; whereas the Devil (as God's ape) counterfeiting that by his magicians, made their wands to appear so, only to men's outward senses, as shown in effect by their being devoured by the other. For it is no wonder that the Devil may delude our senses, since we see by common proof, that simple jugglers will make a hundred things seem both to our eyes and ears otherwise than they are.”
—
“And as they deceive their scholars in this, so do they in imprinting in them the opinion that there are so many princes, dukes, and kings among them, every one commanding fewer or more legions, and empiring in diverse arts, and quarters of the earth. For though that I will not deny that there be a form of order among the angels in heaven, and consequently, was among them before their fall, yet either that they brook the same since then, or that God will permit us to know by damned devils such heavenly mysteries of his, which he would not reveal to us neither by Scripture nor prophets, I think no Christian will once think it. But to the contrary, of all such mysteries as he hath closed up with his seal of secrecy, it becomes us to be contented with a humble ignorance, they being things not necessary for our salvation.”
—
“As these forms wherein Satan obliges himself to the greatest of the magicians are wonderful curious, so are the effects correspondent unto the same. For he will oblige himself to teach them arts and sciences, which he may easily do, being so learned a knave as he is; to carry them news from any part of the world, which the agility of a spirit may easily perform; to reveal to them the secrets of any persons, so being they be once spoken: for the thought, none knows but God, except so far as you may guess by their countenance, as one who is doubtlessly learned enough in the physiognomy. Yea, he will make his scholars to creep in credit with princes, by foretelling them many great things, part true, part false, for if all were false he would lose credit at all hands; but always doubtsome, as his oracles were. For no man doubts but he is a thief, and his agility (as I spoke before) makes him to come [with] such speed.
For this is the difference between God's miracles and the Devil's: God is a creator, what he makes appear in miracle, it is so in effect, as Moses's rod being cast down, was no doubt turned into a natural serpent; whereas the Devil (as God's ape) counterfeiting that by his magicians, made their wands to appear so, only to men's outward senses, as shown in effect by their being devoured by the other. For it is no wonder that the Devil may delude our senses, since we see by common proof, that simple jugglers will make a hundred things seem both to our eyes and ears otherwise than they are.”
October 14, 2024
I thought I knew this book as a major influence on Shakespeare's Macbeth. It isn't.
Written as a sort of Socratic dialogue between a slightly dim Philomanthus and a know-it-all Epistemon, it goes through a pick'n'mix of out-of-context Bible quotes to prove the different types of witches, sorcerers, necromancers and demons. Epistemon appears to know what he's talking about, but it would really only convince you if you were already convinced.
Witches are more often women, because women are weaker than men. Yeah, right, cause men never complain when they're giving birth.
James stated he was writing it to refute Reginald Scot's The Discovery of Witchcraft, but that book is much more erudite, knowing both the Bible and classical authors in much more detail. Whether that persuades you more is up to you, but this is shoddy scholarship, even for the 1590s.
The last quarter is called News from Scotland, which gives details of the North Berwick Witch Trial. By sexual humiliation of women, and kicking a headteacher of a school until he confesses, they get confessions that they christened a cat, tied dead parts of a man to his body, and threw the cat in the sea. This caused a storm, which (didn't) kill King James and Queen Anna.
They burnt the witches.
The influence on Shakespeare is negligible.
Written as a sort of Socratic dialogue between a slightly dim Philomanthus and a know-it-all Epistemon, it goes through a pick'n'mix of out-of-context Bible quotes to prove the different types of witches, sorcerers, necromancers and demons. Epistemon appears to know what he's talking about, but it would really only convince you if you were already convinced.
Witches are more often women, because women are weaker than men. Yeah, right, cause men never complain when they're giving birth.
James stated he was writing it to refute Reginald Scot's The Discovery of Witchcraft, but that book is much more erudite, knowing both the Bible and classical authors in much more detail. Whether that persuades you more is up to you, but this is shoddy scholarship, even for the 1590s.
The last quarter is called News from Scotland, which gives details of the North Berwick Witch Trial. By sexual humiliation of women, and kicking a headteacher of a school until he confesses, they get confessions that they christened a cat, tied dead parts of a man to his body, and threw the cat in the sea. This caused a storm, which (didn't) kill King James and Queen Anna.
They burnt the witches.
The influence on Shakespeare is negligible.
November 1, 2024
This is one of those fun treaties where someone said witch trials are stupid and not Biblical, so King James responded with this document to explain how demons and witches are found in both the Bible and modern science, so you can shut your mouth Mr. Scott, who I will call out by name in my introduction!
Most of this document is James explaining through science and the Bible why witches exist and their tactics to use against people and the works demons do with them. Naturally, the language is very dated ("u"s are "v"s and vise-versa), and the arguments are very much tied to the time and location, but honestly, I enjoyed hearing this perspective. Do I agree with everything? Absolutely not! He called Catholics heretics and said they were exorcising demons by the power of demons. Sure, King James. Sure.
However, my favorite part of this whole document: News from Scotland. Apparently a coven of witches confessed (after torture) to an attempted assassination of the King via magic. But the craziest part is one of them (a dude) attempted to make a love spell, however was caught by his victim's mother, who swapped her daughter's hair out with that of a cow: Thus, while the wizard was teaching in school, the cow barges in, madly in love with him. Golden!
In short, a very interesting time capsule of beliefs on the supernatural being leveraged for power.
Most of this document is James explaining through science and the Bible why witches exist and their tactics to use against people and the works demons do with them. Naturally, the language is very dated ("u"s are "v"s and vise-versa), and the arguments are very much tied to the time and location, but honestly, I enjoyed hearing this perspective. Do I agree with everything? Absolutely not! He called Catholics heretics and said they were exorcising demons by the power of demons. Sure, King James. Sure.
However, my favorite part of this whole document: News from Scotland. Apparently a coven of witches confessed (after torture) to an attempted assassination of the King via magic. But the craziest part is one of them (a dude) attempted to make a love spell, however was caught by his victim's mother, who swapped her daughter's hair out with that of a cow: Thus, while the wizard was teaching in school, the cow barges in, madly in love with him. Golden!
In short, a very interesting time capsule of beliefs on the supernatural being leveraged for power.
September 9, 2013
This work can now be more easily read thanks to the work of Tyson who modernized the English. Demonologies are works that describe the doings of witches, the Devil and demons, the most famous being the Malleus Maleficarum, or Hammer of Witches. But that is a long work. King James gave us a short one with many of the lurid details found in other demonologies.
However, unless you're a scholar, or really interested in primary witchcraft literature, there are many good modern books that discuss what is already in the demonologies. Reading this book was a bit of a chore, even without the 16th Century Scottish English, although I did find some interesting tidbits that I did not know. The good intro and notes also helped me understand the work better. This edition also has a piece called News from Scotland, a work describing the attempt made on the king's life by witchcraft. It is real bonus!
However, unless you're a scholar, or really interested in primary witchcraft literature, there are many good modern books that discuss what is already in the demonologies. Reading this book was a bit of a chore, even without the 16th Century Scottish English, although I did find some interesting tidbits that I did not know. The good intro and notes also helped me understand the work better. This edition also has a piece called News from Scotland, a work describing the attempt made on the king's life by witchcraft. It is real bonus!
March 21, 2025
i think he would’ve hated me
November 24, 2021
Includes an introductory essay "James and the Witches" (pp.1-43), that is more worthwhile than reading the ravings of King James's Demonology (1597). In the section "Seperating Truth from Fiction", there is an appropriately circumspect, even sceptical, point made about the anonymous account of the North Berwick witch trial (1590), published as "News from Scotland" (1591/92, based on an account written by James Carmichael, the Minister of Haddington): "no significant evidence exists to show that there ever was a plot to kill King James, or that there was any form of organized witchcraft in the North Berwick area. The only devil in the affair wore the crown of Scotland." (p.28)
October 13, 2022
This is a fascinating book written by King James I of England and published in 1597. It gives a fantastic account of the sentiments at the time about witchcraft, sorcery, spirits and ghosts. King James had a morbid fear of being murdered, he was particularly fearful about witchcraft. "Daemonlogie" is the result of his research on the subject. I purchased this book as research for my own magical realism books.
October 4, 2017
Tyson presents an excellent update of the original text. In addition to his excellent notes, Tyson has updated and corrected the original text. The result is an excellent work which facilitates an easy investigation into the views posited by James I as relates to the nature of witchcraft and magic.
August 18, 2020
It’s a great book if you are studying this period of history or theme as it has definitions, explanations, modern English translations and the original texts. However, as a read, because it was all explained in the introduction I felt like I was wasting my time reading the actual text.
February 10, 2013
Nice to have commentary and additional related materials rather than just the text of The Demonology of King James I
June 26, 2020
Very entertaining
February 23, 2022
Was very insightful and was good as a history lesson of how the king thought or just to read and take it as fiction stories.
January 14, 2023
Well, I can see how this was controversial and stirred up conversation when it was published. It was certainly an experience to read.
May 10, 2023
"the cumming of Christ?"
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2023
4 stars for the historical context... missing a star for the misogyny
May 1, 2024
3.5- a bit of a difficult read, but the content was fantastic
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews