ABSTRACT
By the end of the sixteenth century many educated Europeans believedthat witches, in addition to practising harmful magic, engaged in a variety of diabolical activities. First and foremost, they believed that witches made an explicit, face-to-face pact with the Devil. This pact not only gave witches the power to perform maleficia but also initiated them into the Devil’s service. The conclusion of the pact was a formal ceremony that took place after the Devil had appeared to the witches and enticed them with the promise of material reward or sexual pleasure. The witches agreed to reject their Christian faith, often symbolized by their trampling on the cross, and to be rebaptized by the Devil. They then paid homage to the Devil, either by bowing down (often backwards) before him or by kissing his buttocks. As a sign of their allegiance the Devil imprinted a distinctive mark on the witches’ bodies, usually in a concealed spot. He then gave them careful instructions for the performance of their maleficent work, equipping them if necessary with the potions, unguents and images they would need to ply their trade.
