"Lyrical in parts, this is a deep and reflective reading of those clusters of contradictory images which attempted to make sense of the exultant and the vulnerable in medieval bodies. Dyan Elliott offers a potent combination of the rigor of textual analysis, the passion of feminism, and the insights of psychoanalysis, as she juxtaposes texts in sequences never before conceived. This will be a treat for all medievalists, a demanding and amply rewarding intellectual journey."—Miri Rubin, Queen Mary, University of London
"This elegantly written book reveals and explores a set of profound if elusive connections that made the materialization of the witch in the early modern period, in Dyan Elliott's closing words, 'virtually irresistable.'. . . A dazzling recreation of pre-Enlightenment thinking about the overlapping configurations of pollution, this important book will be essential reading for premodern and early modern scholars of gender, sexuality, and the body."—Medium Aevum
"In this provocative and, at times, disturbing book, Elliott explores issues of anti-Semitism, ritual purity, and clerical misogyny within the larger historical framework of the Gregorian Reform movement of the high and later Middle Ages."—Religious Studies Review
"That rare conjunction of impeccable scholarship, brilliant synthesis, and innovative intellectual insight. It is a far-ranging work."—Mathew Kuefler, San Diego State University
