In this chapter we will be looking at primary sources that deal specifically with human interaction with non-human entities – in particular, gods and spirits. You might initially categorise this as religious history, or even the history of religion and, to a certain extent, you would be right. Nevertheless, aside from the problems inherent in defining the term ‘religion’, there is a significant difference between our approach and the standard academic consideration of religious systems and the place of people and entities within them. In the following chapter we will be challenging you to build on the most recent shifts in religious history scholarship and to engage with all the historical actors that appear in the primary sources – not just humans, but the gods and spirits that they venerate and which intervene in different ways in their daily lives.
