The history of witchcraft and demonologySummers, Montague
History
The history of witchcraft and demonology
Summers, Montague
Demonology; Demonology -- History; Witchcraft; Witchcraft -- History
On 10 March, 1611, Louis Gaufridi, a priest of Accoules in the diocese of
Marseilles, was visited in prison, where he lay under repeated charges of
foulest sorcery, by two physicians and two surgeons who were appointed to
search for the Devil’s mark. Their joint report ran as follows: “We, the
undersigned doctors and surgeons, in obedience to the directions given us
by Messire Anthoine de Thoron, sieur de Thoron, Councillor to the King
in his Court of Parliament, have visited Messire L. Gaufridy, upon whose
body we observed three little marks, not very different in colour from
the natural skin. The first is upon his right thigh, about the middle
towards the lower part. When we pierced this with a needle to the depth
of two fingers breadth he felt no pain, nor did any blood or other humour
exude from the incision.
“The second is in the region of the loins, towards the right, about an
inch from the spine and some four fingers breadth above the femoral
muscles. Herein we drove the needle for three fingers breath, leaving it
fixed in this spot for some time, as we had already done in the first
instance, and yet all the while the said Gaufridy felt no pain, nor was
there any effluxion of blood or other humour of any kind.
“The third mark is about the region of the heart. At first the needle
was introduced without any sensation being felt, as in the previous
instances. But when the place was probed with some force, he said he
felt pain, but yet no moisture distilled from this laceration. Early the
next morning we again visited him, but we found that the parts which had
been probed were neither swollen nor red. In our judgement such callous
marks which emit no moisture when pierced, cannot be due to any ancient
affection of the skin, and in accordance with this opinion we submit our
report on this tenth day of March, 1611.
_Fontaine_, _Grassy_, Doctors;
_Mérindol_, _Bontemps_, Surgeons.”[59]
On 26 April, 1634, during the famous Loudun trials, Urbain Grandier, the
accused was examined in order to discover the witch-mark. He was stripped
naked, blindfolded, and in the presence of the officials, René Mannoury,
one of the leading physicians of the town, conducted the search. Two
marks were discovered, one upon the shoulder-blade and the other upon the
thigh, both of which proved insensible even when pierced with a sharp
silver pin.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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