Having a woman’s body could be enough to make you suspect. After their arrest, accused women were stripped naked, shaved and handed to a witch pricker, who would carry out a meticulous search for the Devil’s mark, on the surface or within their body, by pricking them with needles. Any birthmark, scar or irregularity could serve as proof—which explains why older women were condemned in such great numbers. This mark was understood to be unaffected by pain; many of the suspected women were so shocked by the pricker’s violation of their modesty—by the violation the entire business represented—that
...more
