Introduction
Have you ever found yourself googling “Okay Google, why am I crying?” 😭 Maybe you’ve become interested in the funeral industry and wondered how it all started. Well, Caitlin Doughty, a writer and death industry specialist, is here to satisfy your curiosity. In her medieval history thesis at the University of Chicago, Doughty delves into the image suppression and demonic births that were believed to occur in late medieval witchcraft theory.
Guichard’s Case and the Accusation of Demonic Births 👥👶
In the year 1308, Guichard, the Bishop of Troyes, was arrested and imprisoned by the French court on charges that included sodomy, extortion, practicing harmful magic, making pacts with the devil, and even murder of the queen. But what caught Doughty’s attention was the accusation against Guichard that he had a son who was a male demon, or incubus. This accusation stemmed from the fact that Guichard’s mother was barren for seven years before his birth, and his father refused to look at the incubus son because he believed it was the devil’s child. Guichard was ultimately convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.
Unique Case, Rare Accusation 🌟
While witch trials during the Middle Ages were rife with accusations of witchcraft and demonic practices, Guichard’s case stands out as unique. It is rare to find explicit accusations of individuals being the offspring of demons, especially incubus children. However, Doughty points out that the concept of demonic bloodlines and the possibility of demonic children was discussed less frequently in biblical interpretations during the Middle Ages.
The Folklore of Demonic Babies 👹👶
Despite its waning popularity in biblical interpretation, the transition to the Middle Ages saw an increase in folklore and didactic literature involving demonic babies. This folklore depicted the devil as having an entire demonic family, including a grandmother, seven daughters, and wives who were mortal women. These tales described the devil’s sons as monstrous giant children, produced when the devil impregnated Jewish sinful women. This raises the question of whether examples of demonic babies in folklore were rare due to the accused sons of incubism not being as frequently implicated in witch trials.
The Demon Semen Mystery and Torture of Women 👿🧪
One of the most shocking aspects of medieval witchcraft theory is the manner in which women were brutally tortured to get them to confess to witchcraft and sex with demons. The late 13th-century text “Secrets of Women” defined man’s nature as hot and dry, while woman’s nature was cold and damp. According to this theory, women had an insatiable desire for intercourse in order to create heat and counteract the effects of their frigid womb. It was believed that the semen of a man needed to be extremely warm in order for a woman to conceive. However, in cases where women were accused of having sex with devils, their descriptions of devil semen varied. Some described it as cold, yellow, corrupt, and fetid, which would not be effective in the frigid lady womb.
The Devil’s Tricks: Succubi and Incubi 😈💑
In order to solve the problem of devil semen not being warm enough, the famous church theologian Thomas Aquinas proposed a solution. He suggested that the devil could create semen by using air vapor, which would then be used by a female demon, known as a succubus, to steal semen from human men during intercourse. If the succubus succeeded, she would then turn into an incubus, a male demon, and deposit the stolen semen into a human womb to create a demon-created baby. These demonic babies would be made of human material, but they would still be considered evil.
The Misogyny and the Intertwining of Witch Trials and Accusations of Demonic Births 👵👾
One possible reason why direct accusations of demonic birth were not frequent during this time was due to the strong presence of misogyny. Women were often seen as outsiders and were targeted in witch trials. Older women and widows, in particular, were accused of causing death, destruction of crops, and harm to babies. An infamous witch hunter’s manual, the Malleus Maleficarum, written by Heinrich Kramer in 1484, revealed that around the year 1400, concepts of demonic sex emerged. It was believed that women were being involuntarily raped by incubi, who were demons. However, after the year 1400, women reportedly stopped resisting these demonic advances and willingly engaged in sexual acts with incubi due to their insatiable lust and desire to copulate with the devil. As a result, accusations of demonic sex became heavily favored towards women, with an 80% female and 20% male ratio of accused witches.
The Baptism Dilemma and Damnation 🔥💧
In addition to the misogyny present in witch trials, the late medieval period saw a rise in baptisms, which were seen as a crucial step towards salvation. Theologians strongly advocated for the baptism of unborn children, and some even proposed performing caesarean sections to extract babies from expectant mothers who were near death. This was because there was a belief that if a child died without being baptized, it would suffer damnation. As a result, witches were frequently accused of stealing newborn babies, either to use them in rituals or to give them to the devil. This accusation stemmed from the fear that these unbaptized babies would be replaced by demonic children.
Reflections on the Bizarre Notions of Demon Babies 🔍
While the concept of demonic babies may seem bizarre through the lens of modern science and theology, it is important to remember that during the Middle Ages, these ideas were deeply ingrained in popular belief systems. Science and modern theology have since shed light on many of the misconceptions surrounding demon babies. Although there is still much to be learned about this peculiar aspect of medieval witchcraft theory, Caitlin Doughty hopes that this article has provided readers with a basic understanding of the historical context and beliefs surrounding demonic births. In the meanwhile, she invites readers to watch her satirical video on demon semen on YouTube, where she generously donates proceeds to death enthusiasts.
Enjoy the fascinating world of medieval magic and let the static hissing of history take you back to a time that seems both distant and hella weird in our modern world! 🎩🔮
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