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
Reginald Scot does not distinguish between the two kinds of marks, when he
says that if the witch 'have anie privie marke under hir arme pokes, under
hir haire, under hir lip, or in her buttocke, or in her privities; it is a
presumption sufficient for the judge to proceed to give sentence of death
upon her'.[326] But from the positions in which supernumerary nipples are
known to occur, it would seem that he is speaking of the 'little Teat' and
not of the coloured mark. In six out of the thirty-two cases of
supernumerary nipple cited above, the number of nipples is not given;
though from the context it would appear that more than one was often found
on each of the accused. If, therefore, we allow two apiece for those cases
not definitely specified, there were sixty-three such nipples, an average
roughly of two to each person; the number varying, however, from one to
five (this last being a man). The position of the nipple on the body is
given in forty-five out of the sixty-three cases: abdomen 2, axilla 1,
buttock 1, fundament 3, groin 2, pudenda 30, shoulder 3, side 3, under
tongue 1. In writing of supernumerary nipples and _mammae erraticae_
Williams quotes cases recorded by modern observers, in which the accessory
organ occurred on the abdomen, axilla, inguinal region, outer side of
thigh, shoulder, and face.[327]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 221: De Lancre, _Tableau_, p. 398.]
[Footnote 222: Id. ib., p. 145.]
[Footnote 223: Bourignon, _Vie_, p. 201.]
[Footnote 224: Id., _Parole_, p. 85; Hale, p. 26.]
[Footnote 225: Id., _Vie_, p. 211; Hale, p. 29.]
[Footnote 226: Id. ib., p. 223; Hale, p. 37.]
[Footnote 227: Ravaisson (the years 1679-81).]
[Footnote 228: Reg. Scot., Bk. II, p. 36 (quoting from _C. Agrippa_).]
[Footnote 229: _Narrative of the Sufferings of a Young Girle_, p. xxxix.]
[Footnote 230: Ib., pp. xl, xli.]
[Footnote 231: Kinloch, pp. 124, 125.]
[Footnote 232: Glanvil, ii, p. 291.]
[Footnote 233: Philobiblon Society, viii, p. 24.]
[Footnote 234: Potts, B 2.]
[Footnote 235: Horneck, pt. ii., pp. 317-20.]
[Footnote 236: Howell, vi, 669; J. Hutchinson, _Hist. of Massachusetts_,
ii, p. 44.]
[Footnote 237: Mackenzie, Title x, pp. 47, 48.]
[Footnote 238: Reginald Scot, Bk. III, pp. 40-2.]
[Footnote 239: W. Forbes, ii, 33, ed. 1730.]
[Footnote 240: Potts, B 4, D 3.]
[Footnote 241: Mackenzie, p. 47, ed. 1699.]
[Footnote 242: De Lancre, _Tableau_, p. 182.]
[Footnote 243: Id. ib., p. 131.]
[Footnote 244: Horneck, pt. ii, p. 322.]
[Footnote 245: Danaeus, ch. ii, E 1.]
[Footnote 246: Lord Fountainhall mentions a case where a pregnant woman
excepted the unborn child, at which the devil was very angry. _Decisions_,
i, p. 14.]
[Footnote 247: Pitcairn, iii, p. 601.]
[Footnote 248: De Lancre, _Tableau_, p. 123.]
[Footnote 249: Bourignon, _Vie_, p. 214; Hale, p. 31.]
[Footnote 250: Glanvil, ii, pp. 136, 148.]
[Footnote 251: _Isobel Inch_, p. 16.]
[Footnote 252: Kinloch, p. 125. Spelling modernized.]
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