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Shakespeare's Tempest , witchcraft and the Little Ice Age
Author(s) -
Stanhill Gerald
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
weather
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.467
H-Index - 40
eISSN - 1477-8696
pISSN - 0043-1656
DOI - 10.1002/wea.2706
Subject(s) - tempest , relevance (law) , storm , climate change , history , little ice age , ice age , environmental ethics , geography , philosophy , meteorology , archaeology , political science , art history , law , oceanography , geology , holocene , geomorphology , glacial period
A storm at sea conjured up by witchcraft plays a central role in Shakespeare's play The Tempest , illustrating the then‐widespread belief that the damaging cold and wet conditions prevailing during the Little Ice Age were man‐made. Recent studies enable the relationship between climate change and the number and outcome of the many witchcraft trials held at that time to be quantified. The relevance of this early episode to the current heated debate on mankind's role in climate change is discussed.