ABSTRACT
As a field of historical enquiry, cultural history has recently witnessed major developments. As a first approximation, the authors could describe it as a gradual transition from a ‘history of culture’ defined as a specific field to a ‘cultural history’ characterized by the ways it approaches the subject. Finally, the authors are confident that such civilization, in which we participate, which we propagate, benefit from and popularize, bestows on us all a certain value, prestige, and dignity. For it is a collective asset enjoyed by all civilized societies. It is also an individual privilege which each of us proudly boasts that he possesses. Partition lines and affiliations are neither fixed nor easy to mark. A variety of research paths move simultaneously on different levels, or in territories that defy simple and clear-cut classification. The study of witchcraft subsequently offered a particularly fertile terrain of encounter between history and anthropology.
