The devil's mark: a socio-cultural analysis of physical evidence

Abstract

This article discusses the search for ‘the devil's mark’ as an example of the social embeddedness of evidentiary methods. The belief in early modern England was that the devil branded the bodies of witches with symbolic yet concrete corporeal malformations such as marks and growths. Thus a bodily search for the devil's mark became a common procedure in witch-trials. The analysis here of the fierce debate about the probative value of this allegedly direct physical evidence demonstrates an affinity between the evidential dispositions of the participants and their social position. The meaning of this method of proof emerged in the context of different, sometimes inconsistent or even competing, cultural concepts.

Miescher nevus as devil's mark, but also as beauty mark

“…In addition, the “witch’s teat,” a supernumerary nipple used to suckle the witch's helper animals, was another physical evidence that prosecutors might search in order to “discover the witches.” Therefore, birthmarks, moles, scars, wounds, supernumerary nipples, tattoos, and even the most unimportant physical traumatic imperfection could all be considered as devil's marks. However, facial lesions, such as Miescher nevi, were easily recognizable and probably represented the skin lesions most commonly implicated in indictments, for instance in the case of Agnes Waterhouse, who was incriminated during the Salem witchcraft trial in 1566 because of the presence of suspicious “spots” on the face and nose …”