The mark of the Devil : medical proof in witchcraft trials.

witch trials;medieval;Europe;witchcraft;Catholic Church;women's history

Sarah Dunn

University:University of Louisville

Department:History

关键词: witch trials;    medieval;    Europe;    witchcraft;    Catholic Church;    women's history;   

Others  :  https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3901&context=etd

美国|英语

来源: The Universite of Louisville's Institutional Repository

【 摘 要 】

This thesis examines the use of physical evidence to prove the identity of witches in witchcraft trials from approximately 1300 to 1650 in Western Europe. Throughout this period, trial records for accused witches and witchcraft texts include references to Devil marks. According to contemporary texts, these were physical marks on witches, which were visible to the human eye. Doctors and midwives verified these marks upon examination of the accused witch’s body. In this instance, medical proof in the courtroom verified supernatural powers. This thesis will analyze the intersection between medical and religious beliefs in the fourteenth through seventeenth centuries to evaluate the importance placed upon medical evidence by secular and ecclesiastical courts. Witch trials and holy autopsies will be examined to prove the central importance of physical evidence in determining an individual’s religious status. This thesis will bridge the study of the history of medicine, the history of the body, and the history of witchcraft in order to examine a phenomenon that crossed all three categories.