Canonization is a ceremony in the Roman Church, by which deceased persons are declared saints. The pope institutes a formal investigation of the miraculous and other qualifications of the deceased person recommended for canonization; and an advocate of the devil, as he is called, is appointed to oppose the canonization and submit evidence. If the examination is satisfactory, the pope pronounces the beatification of the candidate, the actual canonization generally taking place some years afterwards, when a day is dedicated to his honour, his name inserted in the calendar of the Saints, a solemn mass is celebrated by the pope, and his remains preserved as holy relics. Research Canonization
During the 17th century it was claimed that witches possessed the
Mark of Satan on their body.
There were claimed to be two kinds of this mark: visible and invisible. Visible marks included moles, warts, birth-stains, supernumerary teats and spots of an unusual appearance. In an effort to find these visible marks, a woman suspected of witch craft was stripped naked and had all her hair shaved off. The witch finders claimed that the invisible kind of mark could be found because at that point the flesh of the victim was unsusceptible to pain, and would not bleed when punctured. If there existed on any part of the skin surface a spot that did not bleed when cut, then that was deemed evidence of a witch.
In searching for an invisible mark of Satan, a witch finder systematically pricked all parts of the victim's body so as to discover a spot that failed to yield blood, or until the accused woman ceased to cry out in pain. The test was usually successful because the torture was so severe that the woman would either pretend not to feel any pain so as to end the ordeal, or would become insensitive to pain and delirious. An account of such a trial appears in the 1785 edition of Beccaria's 'Essay on Crimes and Punishments':
'In the year 1652, a country woman, named Michelle Chaudron, of the little territory of Geneva, met the Devil in her way from the city. The Devil gave her a kiss, received her homage, and imprinted on her upper lip, and on her right breast, the mark which he is wont to bestow upon his favourites. This seal of the Devil is a little sign upon the skin, which renders it insensible, as we are assumed by all the demonographical civilians of those times. The devil ordered Michelle Chaudron to bewitch two young girls. She obeyed her master punctually, the parents of the two girls accusing her of dealing with the devil. The girls being confronted with the criminal, declared that they felt a continual pricking in some parts of their bodies, and that they were possessed. Physicians were called, at least men that passed for physicians in those days. They visited the girls. They sought for the seal of the devil on the body of Michelle, which seal is called, in the verbal process, the Satanical mark. Into one of these marks they plunged a long needle, which was already no small torture. Blood issued from the wound and Michelle testified by her cries, that the part was not insensible.
The judges not finding sufficient proof that Michelle Chaudron was a witch, ordered her to be tortured, which infallibly produced the proof they wanted. The poor wretch overcome by torment, confessed, at last, everything they desired. The physicians sought again for the Satanical mark, and found it in a little black spot on one of her thighs. Into this they plunged the needle. the poor creature, exhausted and almost expiring with the pain of the torture, was insensible to the needle, and did not cry out. She was instantly condemned to be burnt, but the world beginning at this time to be a little more civilised, she was previously strangled.' Research Mark of Satan
Stonehenge is the principal prehistoric monument in Great Britain. It consists of a group of large stones arranged in a circle on Salisbury Plain.
Geoffrey of Monmouth claimed that the devil bought the stones from an old woman in Ireland, wrapped them up in a wyth, and took them to Salisbury plain where after fixing them in the ground he cried out 'no man will ever find out how these stones came here'. Several hundred years later the mystery of how the stones arrived and were erected, remains a mystery.
In 2008, the results of an archaeological survey were published, suggesting that, based upon evidence of artefacts and near-by burials, that Stonehenge was used as a place of healing from prehistoric times through to the mediaeval period, including by the Romans. Whether or not Stonehenge was used for other purposes as well is not known, but it seems very likely that the stones and location were considered to have the properties of healing the body, and there is evidence that suggests people travelled from as far as Switzerland to be treated at the site. Research Stonehenge More pictures of Stonehenge
The Affenpinscher or Monkey Dog, is a breed of small dog originating in Germany sometime before the 18th century, but not recognised by the British KennelClub until 1980. It is sometimes known as the Monkey Dog on account of its facial features which somewhat resemble those of a primate. In France the breed is also known as 'the moustached little devil' on account of the bushy area of hair above the mouth. The breed is lively, loyal and affectionate, and stubborn. the coat is wiry in texture and relatively long. Research Affenpinscher
Angler is any of an order of fishes Lophiiformes, with flattened body and broad head and jaws. Many species have small, plant-like tufts on their skin. These act as camouflage for the fish as it waits, either floating among seaweed or lying on the sea bottom, twitching the enlarged tip of the threadlike first ray of its dorsal fin to entice prey. There are over 200 species of angler fish, living in both deep and shallow water in temperate and tropical seas. The males of some species have become so small that they live as parasites on the females.
The British species, Lophius piscatorius is also from its habits and appearance called the Fishing-frog and Sea-devil. It is a remarkable fish often coasts. It is from 1 to 1.5 metres long; the head is very wide, depressed, with protuberances, and bearing long separate movable tendrils; the mouth is capacious, and armed with formidable teeth. Its voracity is extreme, and it is said to lie concealed in the mud, and attract the smaller fishes within its reach by gently waving the filamentous appendages on its head. Research Angler
Dasyure or Dasyurus are the brush-tailed opossums, a genus of plantigrade marsupials found in Australia and Tasmania. They are so named in contrast to the opossums of the New World (Didelphys), which have naked tails somewhat like rats. The ursine dasyure (Dasyurus ursinus) of Tasmania is about the size of a badger, but of a sturdier form, of a dull black colour, carnivorous, and of so savage a temper as to have gained for itself the alternative name of Diabolus ursinus, or Tasmanian Devil. Formerly it was most destructive to flocks and poultry-yards, but by the start of the 20th century it was nearly extirpated in inhabited districts. The various species of the genus have much the same nature and habits as the European polecat. Research Dasyure
The Tasmanian devil (Dasyurus ursinus, Diabolus ursinus or Sarcophilus ursinus) is a strongly built nocturnal mammal of the Dasyure (bush-tailed opposums) family, closely related to the thylacine and like it confined to the island of Tasmania. The head is disproportionately large, and the plantigrade feet and general build give the animal a resemblance to a small bear. Carnivorous in habit and very strong, the Tasmanian devil will attack any kind of animal and can easily overpower a sheep. The Tasmanian devil lives in a burrow and is fierce and untameable. Between three and five young are produced at time. The name Tasmanian devil was originally given to the animal by British settlers at Hobart following persistent raids upon their poultry by the animals. Research Tasmanian Devil
The Christadelphians were a religious sect formed during the 19th century, who believed that God would raise all who love him to an endless life in this world, but that those who do not would absolutely perish in death; that Christ is the Son of God, inheriting moral perfection from the Deity, our human nature from his mother; and that there is no personal devil. Research Christadelphians
John Faust was a German 16th century occultist. According to some accounts he was born in Suabia, others make him a native of Anhalt, others of Brandenburg. When he was sixteen years old he went to Ingolstadt and studied theology, became in three years a magister, but abandoned theology, and began the study of medicine, astrology, and magic, in which he likewise instructed his familiar Johann Wagner, the son of a clergyman at Wasserburg. After John Faust had spent a rich inheritance, he allegedly, according to tradition, made use of his power to conjure up spirits, and entered into a contract with the devil for twenty-four years. A spirit called Mephistopheles was given him as a servant, with whom he travelled about, enjoying life in all its forms, but the evil spirit finally carried him off. Even yet John Faust and his familiar Wagner play a conspicuous part in the puppet-shows of Germany, and the legend forms the subject of Goethe's great drama Faust, and furnishes the libretto for Gounod's famous opera of the same name. As early as 1590 the legend was dramatically treated in England by Christopher Marlowe. Research John Faust
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Canonization
