Magnalia Christi Americana
Encyclopedia
Magnalia Christi Americana (roughly, The Glorious Works of Christ in America) is a book published in 1702 by Cotton Mather
(1663–1728). Its title is in Latin
, but its subtitle is in English: The Ecclesiastical History of New England. It was generally written in English and printed in London
"for Thomas Parkhurst, at the Bible and Three Crowns, Cheapside."
It consists of seven "books" collected into two volumes, and it details the religious development of Massachusetts
, and other nearby colonies in New England from 1620 to 1698. Notable parts of the book are Mather's descriptions of the Salem Witch Trials
, in which he criticizes some of the methods of the court and attempts to distance himself from the event; his account of the escape of Hannah Dustan, one of the best known to captivity narrative scholars; his complete "catalogus" of all the students that graduated from Harvard College
, and story of the founding of Harvard College itself; and his assertions that Puritan slaveholders should do more to convert their slaves to Christianity.
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather, FRS was a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author and pamphleteer; he is often remembered for his role in the Salem witch trials...
(1663–1728). Its title is in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, but its subtitle is in English: The Ecclesiastical History of New England. It was generally written in English and printed in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
"for Thomas Parkhurst, at the Bible and Three Crowns, Cheapside."
It consists of seven "books" collected into two volumes, and it details the religious development of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and other nearby colonies in New England from 1620 to 1698. Notable parts of the book are Mather's descriptions of the Salem Witch Trials
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
, in which he criticizes some of the methods of the court and attempts to distance himself from the event; his account of the escape of Hannah Dustan, one of the best known to captivity narrative scholars; his complete "catalogus" of all the students that graduated from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, and story of the founding of Harvard College itself; and his assertions that Puritan slaveholders should do more to convert their slaves to Christianity.
External links
- Magnalia Christi Americana - online copy at Google BooksGoogle Book SearchGoogle Books is a service from Google that searches the full text of books that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical character recognition, and stored in its digital database. The service was formerly known as Google Print when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October...
.