In early modern Germany, soothsayers known as wise women and men roamed the countryside. Fixtures of village life, they identified thieves and witches, read palms, and cast horoscopes. German villagers regularly consulted these fortune-tellers and practiced divination in their everyday lives. Jason Phillip Coy brings their enchanted world to life by examining theological discourse alongside archival records of prosecution for popular divination in Thuringia, a diverse region in central Germany divided into a patchwork of princely territories, imperial cities, small towns, and rural villages. Popular divination faced centuries of elite condemnation, as the Lutheran clergy attempted to suppress these practices in the wake of the Reformation and learned elites sought to eradicate them during the Enlightenment. As Coy finds, both of these reform efforts failed, and divination remained a prominent feature of rural life in Thuringia until well into the nineteenth century. The century after 1550 saw intense confessional conflict accompanied by widespread censure and disciplinary measures, with prominent Lutheran theologians and demonologists preaching that divination was a demonic threat to the Christian community and that soothsayers deserved the death penalty. Rulers, however, refused to treat divination as a capital crime, and the populace continued to embrace it alongside official Christianity in troubled times. The Devil’s Art highlights the limits of Reformation-era disciplinary efforts and demonstrates the extent to which reformers’ efforts to inculcate new cultural norms relied upon the support of secular authorities and the acquiescence of parishioners. Negotiation, accommodation, and local resistance blunted official reform efforts and ensured that occult activities persisted and even flourished in Germany into the modern era, surviving Reformation-era preaching and Enlightenment-era ridicule alike. Studies in Early Modern German History

Showcasing Todd McFarlane's unique art style, which burst onto the comic book scene in the late 1980s and forever changed the landscape of comic book art. Features art from original comic art boards, rare, never-before-seen sketches, as well as art from McFarlane's work on Batman, Spider-Man, and the Hulk (amongst many others), and his own top-selling creation, Spawn. Also features selected commentary by the artist himself.

"highly entertaining and informative... This is a book worth arguing with, written with verve, wit and passion. It is also lavishly illustrated. I enjoyed every minute of it."—The Spectator "as comprehensive a guide as anyone could wish to the appearances of the Evil One in art and literature throughout the age."—The Herald

Florence has one remarkable distinction, apart from the honour of having given birth to the Renaissance. It has the largest and most terrible image of Satan in all of Europe. First published in 1997, this book has had several reprints due the success which it goes on having, so much so that it is now being reprinted for the 4th time in an updated and improved edition with new photos to further illustrate the fascinating image of a character ever present in Italian paintings. This books considers the meaning and the evolution of the Devil in Medieval and Renaissance Art in Florence, and by means of a careful analysis of the surviving works of art of the period, it pays attention to the least significant artefacts as well as to pictorial works of great importance and beauty. 65 colour & 23 b/w illustrations

Both a master of the sword and a slave to it, Aragami Ketsuko cannot resist the tide of violence that would destroy her clan. Taking up her fallen father's 'Red Devil' mask, Ketsuko fights to save her people, no matter the bloody cost. WHAT IS THE SWORD? KETSUKO CARVES HER WAY THROUGH THE WORLD IN SEARCH OF THE ANSWER. 16th century Japan. The fates of warlords ebb and flow like tides of blood, none more than the Aragami Clan who follow their lord clad in the ‘Red Devil’ mask into every battle. But when Lord Aragami succumbs to illness, his daughter, the fierce Ketsuko, hatches a plot to save her people, no matter the cost… Years later, as Ketsuko wanders the heaving battlefields of her ruined homeland, she discovers a chance to avenge the terrible wrong done to her clan, even if it means stepping back onto a road steeped in slaughter. From writer Sebastin Girner (Shirtless Bear-Fighter!, Scales & Scoundrels) and artist John Bivens (Creature Feature, Spread) comes a blood-drenched love letter to Samurai fiction in a chilling tale of guilt, trauma, and vengeance. Collects the complete five issue series. “…wonderfully hideous art renders the plot twists into an addictive ride. Fans of the samurai genre will thrill in this sleek and splattered modern entry.” - Publishers Weekly

The Devils Reign is a limited edition hard cover art book and art exhibit curated by Magus Peter H Gilmore, High Priest of the Church of Satan. The exhibit features over 60 of the world's best tattooers, illustrators, and sculptors, including the Hellish Hiearchy of The Church of Satan. Artwork in the exhibit depicts devils from cultures around the world listed in The Satanic Bible's Infernal Names section written by Anton Szandor LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan. The show also includes depictions inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulu mythos. Art in the book ranges from watercolor illustrations to pen and ink, sculpture and photography. "Meet Hellish personages from the legendary hierarchy of Hell in The Devils Reign. The "supervillains" of past ages, wrought with exquisite skill and splendid imagination, are gathered here in the ultimate rogues gallery.""For the first time, the legendary denizens of Hell as denoted in LaVey's The Satanic Bible are evoked in brilliant, blasphemous detail for you to savor."- Peter H Gilmore, High Priest, The Church of SatanARTISTS IN THE BOOK:AW Storm AndersonAdam P CampbellAlexandra SnelgroveAndy HowlCameron JohnChris ReedChristopher LeeClay McCayCurt BaerDaniel ByrdDave BernsDavid Sinclair SmithDavid WallaceDerek HessDerek NobleDusty NealDylan Garrett SmithEric VernorFlorian BertmerFrancisco DHerb AuerbachJason LeachJef WhiteheadJeff SrsicJett Vincent BaileyJoao WernerjondixJosh McAlearJosie GallowsKim RiceLaney OleniczakLilith CooseMarilyn MansfieldMarkus MayerMatt LackeyMichaelanthony Alton MitchellN! Satterfieldnico TDM LEGRANDPale HorsePoochRobert LangSamantha RomanSara RaySean BonnerSeldon HuntShaun BeaudryShayne of the DeadSkot OlsenSteven AndersonStevie FloydThomas ThornTim LehiTimothy HoyerTony KarnesTracey PryorUncle AllanValentin SchwarzWilliam J ButlerZac ScheinbaumZack Spurlock Zoth Ommog

Desire leaves her bound to a demon. Love will unlock her destiny. In Shumei's world, her black hair marks her as being touched by magic and thereby vulnerable to its corruption. Shunned by her village, she and her family scrape by selling herbal remedies, but a mysterious epidemic has depleted her stores, and she is forced to leave the protection of town to replenish them. With only moonlight to guide her, Shumei does what she can to evade the demons known to stalk the woods, but she finds herself confronted by an alluring man with a wicked smile and desolate eyes—one who somehow knows her deepest, darkest desires…and whose depraved hunger betrays his inhuman nature. Little does she know how a single moment of weakness will end up unlocking her potential, her destiny, and her heart. ♥♥♥ Caught in the Devil's Hand is a full-length "dark lite" fantasy romance featuring demons, awakened magic powers, and a steamy romance between an incubus and the young woman who can't help wanting him. If you like enemies with benefits, cynical heroes who learn to hope, magical bonds, and happily ever afters, you'll love Caught in the Devil's Hand. Note that while the relationship ends in an HEA, the story ends in a cliffhanger.

This sumptuously illustrated volume analyzes artists' representations of angels and demons and heaven and hell from the Judeo-Christian tradition and describes how these artistic portrayals evolved over time. As with other books in the Guide to Imagery series, the goal of this volume is to help contemporary art enthusiasts decode the symbolic meanings in the great masterworks of Western Art. The first chapter traces the development of images of the Creation and the Afterworld from descriptions of them in the Scriptures through their evolution in later literary and philosophical works. The following two chapters examine artists' depictions of the two paths that humans may take, the path of evil or the path of salvation, and the punishments or rewards found on each. A chapter on the Judgment Day and the end of the world explores portrayals of the mysterious worlds between life and death and in the afterlife. Finally, the author looks at images of angelic and demonic beings themselves and how they came to be portrayed with the physical attributes--wings, halos, horns, and cloven hooves--with which we are now so familiar. Thoroughly researched by and expert in the field of iconography, Angels and Demons in Art will delight readers with an interest in art or religious symbolism.

“The Devil holds the strings which move us!” (Charles Baudelaire, The Flowers of Evil, 1857.) Satan, Beelzebub, Lucifer... the Devil has many names and faces, all of which have always served artists as a source of inspiration. Often commissioned by religious leaders as images of fear or veneration, depending on the society, representations of the underworld served to instruct believers and lead them along the path of righteousness. For other artists, such as Hieronymus Bosch, they provided a means of denouncing the moral decrepitude of one’s contemporaries. In the same way, literature dealing with the Devil has long offered inspiration to artists wishing to exorcise evil through images, especially the works of Dante and Goethe. In the 19th century, romanticism, attracted by the mysterious and expressive potential of the theme, continued to glorify the malevolent. Auguste Rodin’s The Gates of Hell, the monumental, tormented work of a lifetime, perfectly illustrates this passion for evil, but also reveals the reason for this fascination. Indeed, what could be more captivating for a man than to test his mastery by evoking the beauty of the ugly and the diabolic?

Explore the creation of Guillermo del Toro’s early masterpiece through this visually stunning and insightful look at the spine-chilling classic. Released in 2001, Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone announced the director as a singular talent with a unique ability to mix the macabre with the sublime. A spiritual companion piece to his Oscar-winning Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), the film shares similar themes and is also set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, a brutal conflict that turned ordinary men into monsters. Through a series of in-depth and extremely candid interviews with the director, this deluxe volume not only explores the shooting of the film but also delves into a range of other topics with del Toro, including his influences, his uniquely nuanced approach to filmmaking, and the traumatic personal events that colored the creation of The Devil’s Backbone. The book also draws on interviews with key contributors in the film’s creation, including cinematographer Guillermo Navarro and composer Javier Navarrete, to give readers an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at how this gothic horror masterpiece was crafted. Featuring a wealth of exquisite concept art and rare unit photography, Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone is the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at an unforgettable Spanish-language classic.