The Witch-cult in Western Europe: A Study in AnthropologyMurray, Margaret Alice
Religion
The Witch-cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology
Murray, Margaret Alice
Ethnology; Witchcraft -- Great Britain
Temperance Lloyd, a Devon witch, was tried in 1682: 'Upon search of her
body this informant did find in her secret parts, two teats hanging nigh
together like unto a piece of flesh that a child had suckt. And each of the
said teats was about an inch in length.'[321] Bridget Bishop, one of the
New England witches, was tried in 1692: 'A Jury of Women found a
preternatural Teat upon her Body; But upon a second search, within 3 or 4
hours, there was no such thing to be seen.'[322] Elizabeth Horner, another
Devon witch, tried in 1696, 'had something like a Nipple on her Shoulder,
which the Children [who gave evidence] said was sucked by a Toad'.[323]
Widow Coman, an Essex witch, died a natural death in 1699: 'Upon her death
I requested Becke the midwife to search her body in the presence of some
sober women, which she did and assured me she never saw the like in her
life that her fundament was open like a mouse-hole and that in it were two
long bigges out of which being pressed issued blood that they were neither
piles nor emrods for she knew both but excrescencies like to biggs with
nipples which seemed as if they had been frequently sucked.'[324] Elinor
Shaw and Mary Phillips were executed in Northampton in 1704 for witchcraft:
'The Infernal Imps did Nightly Suck each of them a large Teat, or pieces of
red Flesh in their Privy Parts.'[325]
The positions of the marks are worth noting. Of the coloured mark it will
be seen from the evidence given above that there were certain well-defined
positions, which is in itself a strong suggestion of the artificial
character of this mark. In France the usual position was the left shoulder;
in the Basses-Pyrénées the left eye, the left side, and the thigh were also
commonly marked; the variations given by Boguet are the abdomen, the back,
and the right side of the neck. In England it seems that only the hand and
wrist were marked; in Somerset the exact position was between the upper and
middle joints of the fourth finger of the right hand, probably the
'ring-finger', but whether on the outer or inner surface is not recorded.
In Scotland the position is very varied, the right hand, the right side,
the shoulder, the back, the neck, and the loin; at Aberdeen the position on
the right hand is still further defined as being on the back and on the
third finger, i.e. the 'ring-finger'.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account