One major hurdle in attempting to understand medieval magic is the problem of the idea of what magic is. Much of the information comes from laws, penitential, and sermons of Christian leaders condemning magic and its practitioners. Within medieval Christendom, magic was the opposite of religion, and therefore defined by those who were in a position to define Christianity: church leaders and religious authors. In that sense medieval magic is whatever practices church leaders condemned …showed first 75 words of 2051 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2051 total…and the preparation of medicines often involved taboos, sympathetic magic, and attention to heavenly bodies. Charms (prayers, blessings, and exorcisms) were considered magic by some, though most probably worried about whether rather than how they worked. Amulets and talismans were natural magic; even if they were holy objects used improperly that was usually considered "superstition" rather than demonic magic. Sorcery was the use of any of these, and particularly of healing magic, for evil ends.