A routine of the Holy Inquisition Part 3

Interrogated witches, warlocks, and others sold soul to the devil in the same way as heretics under the most severe torture. In addition, the bodies of the victims to seek out the so-called “mark of the devil” — unusual moles, seals, etc. it was Believed that the devil imposes on their minions print, which you can identify them.

In a place where the “print” inquisitors hammered knitting needles 10 cm long, burned with a hot iron. If people did not feel pain, he recognized a servant of the devil and were burned at the stake. At that time people did not know about the natural anesthesia that occurs in such seals. Other explanation, except the mark of the devil, they have not found.

One of the strongest outbreaks of witch hunts occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, in January 1692, after several residents began having seizures. The reason for this is considered witchcraft by local women.

The first such accusation was expressed by the children. Some twenty years later Sarah Churchill, accused of witchcraft and testified against his master, George Jacobs. The court granted no alibi because it was believed that the devil gives his assistants the twins while they do their evil deeds. In the result, nineteen people were hanged, one octogenarian old man was driven to death by the crowd, and one woman died in prison while awaiting trial.

Got accused of witchcraft, Salem women judges looking for “devil’s mark”. It was believed that Satan sucks the blood of the witch through resembling a wart.

Gradually witch hunt turned into hysteria, which was often struck by closed groups, such as orphanages, remote villages, and monasteries. Monasteries demons terrorized especially eager.

For example, in 1632, in the convent of the Ursuline in Lucene to sister superior Joan, Desani was possessed by seven demons. Initially, the nuns were dead Confessors, the local priest urban Grandier, then foreign interlocutors, that caused panic in the monastery. The priest showered with numerous accusations that the nuns suffer for his fault.

The investigation was launched. As a result, in 1634, a priest urban Grandier after terrible tortures and was burned at the stake. After that, the hysteria was gone. And the root cause of hysteria lay in Jeanne Dezani — like nature is emotionally disturbed, she arranged this the view from the jealousy of the priest. And isolation, in which nuns lived, led to a mass psychosis.

Actually, even then, the German doctor Johannes Weiner, examined several cases of hysteria in the convents, found that these outbreaks were caused by natural psychological causes. And English clergyman Francis Hutchinson one of the first to come to the conclusion that in many cases the defendant needs more “doctor insanity” than the stake or the gallows.

In the late XVIII — early XIX century, despite the widespread persecution of dissent, the phenomenon of ghosts even became a popular entertainment. The device created the illusion, called phantasmagoria. Belgian optician Etienne Gaspard was the Creator of the first really scary ghosts.

Its attraction with the ghosts of Voltaire, Rousseau, Robespierre and others enjoyed great popularity. And after a couple of decades, in 1863, a demonstration of ghosts gained perfection by John Henry Pepper — a specialist in analytical chemistry from London. Device pepper phantom created through light, mirrors, and glass.

In XVII-XVIII centuries became popular magical books, grimoires. In the books allegedly contained secret knowledge, magical spells, recipes, potions, descriptions of rituals and so on. In many “magical books” was used by ancient Egyptian, Hebrew and Latin texts.

It was thought that to read grimoires can only be their master, as the paper of these books has a crimson color, burning eyes. The page was changed only for the owner but even he was subjected to terrible danger, reading a book: she was able to materialize a variety of demons, from minor spirits to the Supreme beings of the infernal hierarchy who was rebellious and evil nature.

According to another version, the magical book is alive, it is required to feed, of course, nothing but the blood. Said you need only to open a book on a particular page, to call the demon. However, the reality described in Grimoire rituals were complex and, in practice, extremely tedious.

Honorius

The most famous Grimoire are: “Testament of Solomon”, “minor key of Solomon”, “the Grimoire of Pope Honorius”, the “True Grimoire”, “the Magic of Arbatel”, “Heptameron”, “the Sixth and seventh books of Moses” and “the Book of the sacred magic of Abramelin the Mage”.

Magical book on instructions from Rome, many were burned at the stake. Cats, crows and other animals, which, according to medieval concepts, it could be in the service of the devil, witches, and evil spirits, have also found their death in the fire.

As a result, for three centuries about two hundred thousand people were executed for witchcraft. Christians who argued with the Church was accused of the worst crimes and were sent to the stake. Those times have sunk into Oblivion. People are not going to burn another prophetess but rather carries her last money.

Directors shoot the next “watch”, and the writers of the popular again the theme of witches and wizards squeeze past in order to earn a lot of money. With movies and television, we learn about the mystery of the Da Vinci code, about the atrocities of the Inquisition.

Children play in zombies and vampires. Created a variety of sites dedicated to dark magic for modern witches do not believe in the devil and the Internet. The middle ages seem to be something romantically attractive. But who knows what can turn a story?