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witches' mark
According to witch-hunters during the height of the witch trials, the witches’ mark (not to be confused with a witches' teat) indicated that an individual was a witch. The witches' mark and the devil's mark are both terms applied to essentially the same mark. The beliefs about the mark differ depending on the trial location and the accusation made against the witch. Evidence of the witches’ mark is found earliest in the 16th century, and reached its peak in 1645, then essentially disappeared by 1700.〔"Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition" Richard M. Golden, Library of Congress vol 4, Q-Z, 2006〕 The Witch or Devil's mark was believed to be the permanent marking of the Devil on his initiates to seal their obedience and service to him. He created the mark by raking his claw across their flesh, or by making a blue or red brand using a hot iron. Sometimes, the mark was believed to have been left by the Devil licking the individual. The Devil was thought to mark the individual at the end of nocturnal initiation rites.〔(Devil's mark ) Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft. New York: Facts On File.1989. p. 99〕 The witches' teat was a raised bump somewhere on a witch's body. It is often depicted as having a wart-like appearance.
Marks made to keep out witches are also referred to as "witch marks". For example, during works at Knole House in 1609 oak beams beneath floors, particularly near fireplaces, were scorched and carved with scratched witch marks to prevent witches and demons from coming down the chimney. Witch marks, both scratched and in the form of chalk circles in front of fireplaces, are still made as a tradition, as found at The Fleece Inn in Worcestershire, England.
== Beliefs about the mark ==
The witches' teat is associated with the perversion of maternal power by witches in early modern England.〔Deborah Willis "Malevolent Nurture: Witch-hunting and maternal Power in Early Modern England" Ithaca, NY, and London: Cornell University Press. 1995. xi + 264 pp.〕 The witches' teat is associated with the feeding of witches' imps or familiars; the witch's familiar supposedly aided the witch in her magic in exchange for nourishment (blood) from sacrificial animals or from the witch's teat.〔"Witchcraft Today: An Encyclopedia of Wiccan and Neopagan Traditions" James R. Lewis, Library of Congress Cataloging-in-publication Data, 1999; pp. 104〕 It is also where the devil supposedly suckles when he comes at night to bed his faithful servants, sometimes impregnating them with his seed. Once the devilish half-breed has been conceived, the cambion may only feed upon this teat and no other. Folklore suggests that on the 7th day of the 7th week of consecutive feeding upon the teat, the cambion would grow to adulthood immediately and begin wreaking havoc with a range of demonic powers inherited from its supernatural father. However, should the ritual be disrupted during the 49-day period, the process has to restart all over again.
It was believed that the marks of a witch were applied to “secret places": under the eyelids, in armpits and body cavities. Being found to have this mark was considered undeniable proof of being a witch. All witches and sorcerers were believed to have a witches' mark waiting to be found. A person accused of witchcraft was brought to trial and carefully scrutinized. The entire body was suspect as a canvas for a mark, an indicator of a pact with Satan.〔 Witches’ marks were commonly believed to include moles, scars, birthmarks, skin tags, supernumerary nipples, natural blemishes and insensitive patches of skin. Experts, or inquisitors, firmly believed that a witches’ mark could be easily identified from a natural mark; in light of this belief, protests from the victims that the marks were natural were often ignored.
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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