A SUPERIOR COPY. Damned explores the long, dark history of one of the most influential figures in Western history: the Devil. With an extraordinary array of images from medieval illuminated manuscripts and Renaissance painting to modern cinema, comic strips, and advertising, Damned portrays the Devil in both religious and secular realms, while the text traces the Devil’s evolution from the sadistic beast of the monastic imagination to the Devil who lurks inside every pleasure-seeking individual today.

This highly original and engaging book by French historian Robert Muchembled, is a journey through time and space in search of the changing perception and significance of the devil in Western culture.

• An outstanding book about the changing perception and significance of the devil in Western culture.
• Robert Muchembled is a well-known historian and an expert on witchcraft, whose work has already been translated into many languages.
• The author highlights the way that the changing notion of evil is connected to other changes in society at large.
• Draws on a wealth of examples, from the witch-hunts of the 15th and 16th centuries, to the films of Stanley Kubrick.

SCARCE pp. 200 #0518 Robert Muchembled is a French historian. In 1967, he passed the Agrégation in history. In 1985 he was awarded a doctorate for his thesis on attitudes to violence and society in Artois between 1440 and 1600. In 1986 he became Professor of Modern History at Paris 13 University. He has written notably about witchcraft, violence and sexuality.