Abstract
Abstract Studies of lived religion have shown that from the perspective of the early modern laity, stark divisions between religion, magic, and superstition were largely absent from daily life. This chapter establishes how the division of ‘religious’ objects from secular or ‘magical’ objects in the early modern period is problematic. In particular, it shows how amulets made from natural matter, such as gemstones and animal teeth, can be reintegrated among religious objects. The evidence of amulets and rings reveals the connections of the cosmos, showing how men and women used these items to negotiate the divine and to control the ‘exigencies of daily life’. There was logic to how the divine could work through these tiny shards of stone or animal matter. From a lay perspective, the use of amulets and precious stones was not ‘enchantment’, but part of a developed belief structure that located the divine in the natural environment and that was tied to natural philosophy.
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