Random History Fact - Stigma Diaboli
In English is better known as the witch's mark or the Devil's mark, and it consists of a characteristic witches were said to have on their bodies. These spots, of diverse nature, were attributed to the Devil who was believed to mark his followers. In fact the stigma diaboli was considered to be a spot or mark on which the accused could feel no pain.
As stated, these marks could vary in their form, some inquisitors looked for the devil's eye, a particular mole on the inner thigh. Others searched for additional nipples, with which the accused was thought to feed demons. Scars and other types of spots could also be fatal. Generally they looked for these insensitive areas, so the common practice was to either pick the whole body of the witch with a large pin, or to use hot metal on their skin. These horrendous practices of course resulted in many people dying in prison for the injuries (also caused by the tortures used to gain confessions).
What is even more absurd is how finding some sort of Devil's mark on the body of someone accused of being a witch, was enough to condemn them. This in many cases resulted in the use of retractable blades, to gain the wanted result.
Yet another witch themed random history fact for you all. I remember researching on the Malleus Maleficarum (on which I wrote another random history fact linked here) for my high school thesis, and finding out how many absurd things were enough to condemn someone. Witch trials are not a subject you study a lot in school, but there's so much to it, I really want to share it. Here's the link to the wikipedia article on the stigma diaboli, although I have also used some of my old notes to write this. If you are interested on random history facts on witches I have a few others you can read here and here.
