The Learn Tracker
...life-long learning: structured, organized, searchable...
924
Lectures Watched
Since January 1, 2014
Hundreds of free, self-paced university courses available:
my recommendations here
Peruse my collection of 275
influential people of the past.
View My Class Notes via:
Receive My Class Notes via E-Mail:

VIEW ARCHIVE

Contact Me via E-Mail:
edward [at] tanguay.info
Notes on video lecture:
The Origin of the Word Magic
Notes taken by Edward Tanguay on May 10, 2015 (go to class or lectures)
Choose from these words to fill the blanks below:
spiritual, Roman, courts, entrails, injure, Antiquity, superstition, Germanic, structures, birds, dangerous, Latin, amulets, false, central, religion, evil, perjoritive, religion, demons, Zoroastrian, present, deceit
•
the end of the Roman world
•
the beginning of the Late                   
•
dismantling of previous                     
•
Roman, Judeo-Christian, and                  cultures merged
•
the magic practiced in these cultures merged as well, producing new combinations of magic practices
•
the frontiers between magic and                  were not so clearly established in people's minds
•
among Romans, magical practices abounded and were part of the religious ritual itself
•
observing the flights of            or the                  of animals to predict the future
•
creating                to attract good or bad fortune
•
concocting potions in order to mediate with invisible                    forces
•
reciting charms to heal, protect, or              other people
•
the word magic
•
5th century B.C.
•
Greek word μαγεία [mah-GAY-ya]
•
referred to the activities of the                        priests from Persia known as the μάγοι [mah-GOH-ee]
•
the beliefs and practices attributed to the magoi were seen as dark and                   
•
as it differed from Greek                 
•
μαγεία was a                        term used to refer to practices by Greek and Roman peasants which deviated from the official religious practices of the Roman Empire
•
began to refer to trickery and             
•
the word magic was bestowed with this meaning to the            written languages
•
by then the ancient idea of magic had been already related to a more obscure concept issued from Christian religion:                         
•
the concept of superstition is necessary to understand the perception of magic in Medieval times
•
the arrival of monotheistic religions at the end of the            era
•
believing in only one God, Christians believed the practices of other religions to be            or superstitious
•
Christian authors described the non-Christian religious practices as          and misguided
•
because these religions fell outside the monotheistic religious context, they could only be related to              by the new religious authorities and hence received justification to be eradicated
•
this approach to religions would mark Western culture for centuries to come up to our                day
•
nevertheless, magic would become a                aspect of the new Medieval society
•
from all social strata from Royal              to peasant villages as well as some ecclesiastical environments

Spelling Corrections:

perjoritive ⇒ pejorative

Ideas and Concepts:

On the origin of magic and superstition via tonight's Magic in the Middle Ages course:

"The word magic originated in the 5th century B.C. as the Greek word μαγεία [mah-GAY-ya] and referred to the activities of the Zoroastrian priests from Persia known as the μάγοι [mah-GOH-ee]. The beliefs and practices attributed to these priests were seen as dark and dangerous, as they differed from the spiritual practices in Greece at the time.

Hundreds of years later, μαγεία had become a pejorative term used to refer to practices by Greek and Roman peasants which deviated from the official religious practices of the Roman Empire, and began to refer to also refer to trickery and deceit, and it was this meaning that was passed onto the Latin-based written languages of Europe.

At the same time, the ancient idea of magic had already been related to a more obscure concept originating from within the Christian religion, namely, superstition, a concept necessary to understand the perception of magic in Medieval times:The arrival of monotheistic religions at the end of the Roman era, particularly the Judeo-Christian religion, believing in only one God, taught its believers that the practices of other religions were false or "superstitious," a way for Christian authors and religious authorities to describe the non-Christian religious practices as misguided, and because these religions fell outside the monotheistic religious context, they could only be related to demons and evil spirits, and hence received justification to be eradicated. This approach to other religions outside one's own would mark Western culture for centuries."
The Origin of the Word Magic