Ronald Hutton Interviewed by Diarmaid MacCulloch

Leading authority on witchcraft and ancient, medieval and modern paganism Professor Ronald Hutton looks at why societies across the world have feared witchcraft and how that fear can be eradicated.

Hutton says that while the witch came to prominence in early modern Europe, its origins can be traced back to the ancient world. In his landmark book on the subject, he examines attitudes to and treatment of witches across the world including in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia and the Americas.

Hutton is professor of history at the University of Bristol. Here he talks to Professor Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch, one of the world’s leading historians of the Church and author of the award-winning A History of Christianity and presenter of its associated six-part BBC series.

The British Academy lecture is the centrepiece of a series of events at the festival featuring academy fellows.