Clerical Exorcists and the Struggle for Professional Status in Early Modern Venice: Learning, Licensing, and Practice

Abstract

Clerical exorcists occupied an unstable place among healers in early modern Italy. Although recognized by their patients for their skills and knowledge, they were also a potentially disruptive group, given their interactions with malevolent powers and work that transgressed the normal boundaries of clerical activities. Consequently, clerical exorcists had to defend the legitimacy of their activities to skeptical ecclesiastical authorities. The examination of several such defenses by Venetian clerical exorcists reveals how they understood their profession and advocated for its legitimacy using arguments that resonated with discussions in contemporary medicine and natural philosophy.