Liber XXIX · Superstitions
Chapter IX
Origins of Superstition
8 min readOrigins of Superstition: From Roman Superstitio to FolkloreWhere superstitions come from: Greek and Roman ideas of excess piety, Christian lists of pagan practices, Reformation polemic, and the folklorists' survivals.8 min readPseudodoxia Epidemica: Thomas Browne and the Vulgar ErrorsThomas Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646), the book of Vulgar Errors: how a Norwich physician tested popular beliefs, from basilisks to spilt salt.