Conclusion

Abstract

What have these six case studies contributed to our understanding of the changing place of witchcraft, demonology and spirits in south-west England (and more generally in English and European culture), in the period between the English and French revolutions? In this conclusion I will seek to bring out some of the methodological and substantive lessons, while noting that one of the most important conclusions is the need to treat each case as a unique conjuncture of circumstances, interests and ideas, which deserve to be re-created in their full complexity, not simply reduced to a series of common features and factors.