Editing Demon (section)

=== Medieval Christian Europe ===
Magical rites, charms, and beliefs in spiritual entities were prominent in pre-Christian Europe.<ref>Scribner, Robert W. "The Reformation, popular magic, and the" Disenchantment of the World"." The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 23.3 (1993): 480-481.</ref> While the Church officially declared such beliefs as ''false'',<ref name="Scribner, Robert W 1993">Scribner, Robert W. "The Reformation, popular magic, and the" Disenchantment of the World"." The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 23.3 (1993): 481.</ref> the persistance of such beliefs among the wider populations led Christian monks to assimilate Christian with non-Christian rites.<ref name="Scribner, Robert W 1993"/> In order to do so, non-Christian symbols and pagan deities have been substituted with [[Jesus Christ]].<ref name="Scribner, Robert W 1993"/><ref>Cameron, Malcolm L. "Anglo-Saxon medicine and magic." Anglo-Saxon England 17 (1988): 214.</ref> To sanction the invocation of non-Christian supernatural powers, Christian missionaries, such as [[John Cassian]] in the fifth century,<ref name="Scribner, Robert W 1993"/> declared the pagan gods to be demons, servants of [[Lucifer]], who bring disorder to the world.<ref>Brown, Peter. Sorcery, Demons, and the Rise of Christianity from Late Antiquity into the Middle Ages. New York, NY, 1970. p. 24</ref> Many pagan nature spirits like [[Dwarf (folklore)|dwarfs]] and [[Elf|elves]] thus became seen as demons, servants of the supreme Devil. A difference was made between [[monster]]s and demons. The monsters, regarded as distorted humans, probably without souls, were created so that people might be grateful to God that they did not suffer in such a state; they ranked above demons in existence and still claimed a small degree of beauty and goodness as they had not turned away from God.{{sfn|Russell|1986|p=79}}

In Medieval Christianity, demons and spirits were generally considered to be fallen angels. Morally ambivalent nature spirits, such as [[fairy|fairies]] from Irish and Scandinavian [[folklore|folktales]] were often explained as angels who remained neutral during the [[War in Heaven|war of heaven]].<ref>Mack, C. K., Mack, D. (1998). A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits. USA: Arcade Pub. p. xxiii</ref><ref name="Wilde, J. F. E. 1888 p. 89">Wilde, J. F. E. (1888). Ancient Legends, mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland: With Sketches of the Irish Past. To which is Appended a Chaper on "The Ancient Race of Ireland". USA: Ticknor and Company. p. 89</ref> They became spirits of the place they fell into when banished to earth.<ref name="Wilde, J. F. E. 1888 p. 89"/> Although considered neutral spirits earlier, later [[Protestantism|Protestant thinkers]] increasingly associated them with Satan and considered them to be demons.<ref>Oldridge, Darren. "Fairies and the Devil in early modern England." The Seventeenth Century 31.1 (2016): 1-15.</ref>