ABSTRACT
Scratching was another popular, yet illegal, test to reveal a supernatural sign of witchcraft. The belief was that by scratching the suspect with the nails and drawing her blood, the bewitched victim could enjoy temporary relief of symptoms. Scratching was another vulgar and useless test, not because it was ineffective, but because it was devilish. Most of the scholarly texts about scratching were written by divines, perhaps because the supernatural was their domain. One prevalent feature of the ordeal, a complete trust in divine guidance, was lacking in the early modern procedures. Because the result was no longer blindly trusted, ordeal-type procedures had to be reconstructed as experiments in accordance with the rising empiricist worldview. It is important to note that condemnation of scratching as vulgar did not necessarily mean disbelief in its efficaciousness, as demonstrated by Cotta's argument. Cotta's insistence on using solely natural methods of proof relied on a theological basis, the fear of the devil's manipulation.
