Deal with the Devil 1

Deal with the Devil"Pact with the Devil" redirects here. For the 1950 Italian film, see Pact with the Devil (film).For the album by the rock band Lizzy Borden, see Deal with the Devil (album). For other uses, see Deal with theDevil (disambiguation).

Written deal

A deal with the Devil or pact with the Devil is a cultural motif, bestexemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles,but elemental to many Christian folktales. The "Bargain with the devil"constitutes motif number M210 and "Man sells soul to devil" motifnumber M211 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature.[1]

According to traditional Christian belief in witchcraft, the pact isbetween a person and Satan or a demon. The person offers his or hersoul in exchange for diabolical favours. Those favours vary by the tale,but tend to include youth, knowledge, wealth, or power.

It was also believed that some persons made this type of pact just as asign of recognizing the Devil as their master, in exchange for nothing.The bargain is considered a dangerous one, as the price of the Fiend's service is the wagerer's soul. The tale mayhave a moralizing end, with eternal damnation for the foolhardy venturer. Conversely, it may have a comic twist, inwhich a wily peasant outwits the Devil, characteristically on a technical point. The person making the pactsometimes tries to outwit the devil, but loses in the end (e.g., man sells his soul for eternal life because he will neverdie to pay his end of the bargain. Immune to the death penalty, he commits murder, but is sentenced to life in prison).

Great achievements might be credited to a pact with the Devil, from the numerous European Devil's Bridges to theviolin virtuosity of Niccol Paganini to the "crossroad" myth associated with Robert Johnson.

Overview

Saint Wolfgang and the Devil, by Michael Pacher.

It was usually thought that the person who had made a pactalso promised the demon to kill children or consecrate themto the Devil at the moment of birth (many midwives wereaccused of this, due to the number of children who died atbirth in the Middle Ages and Renaissance), take part inSabbaths, have sexual relations with demons, and sometimesengender children from a succubus, or an incubus in the caseof women.

The pact can be oral or written. An oral pact is made bymeans of invocations, conjurations, or rituals to attract thedemon; once the conjurer thinks the demon is present, he/sheasks for the wanted favour and offers his/her soul inexchange, and no evidence is left of the pact; but accordingto some witch trials and inquisitions that were performed,even the oral pact left evidence, namely the diabolical mark,an indelible mark where the marked person had been touchedby the Devil to seal the pact. The mark could be used as a

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proof to determine that the pact was made. It was also believed that on the spot where the mark was left, the markedperson could feel no pain. A written pact consists in the same forms of attracting the demon, but includes a writtenact, usually signed with the conjurer's blood (although sometimes was also alleged that the whole act had to bewritten with blood, meanwhile some demonologists defended the idea of using red ink instead of blood and otherssuggested the use of animal blood instead of human blood). Forms of these include contracts or simply signing yourname into Satan's Red Book.These acts were presented often as a proof of diabolical pacts, though critics claim there is no proof of whether theywere authentic, written by insane persons believing they were actually dealing with a demon, or just were fake actspresented by the tribunals of the Inquisition. Usually the acts included strange characters that were said to be thesignature of a demon, and each one had his own signature or seal. Books like The Lesser Key of Solomon (alsoknown as Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis) give a detailed list of these signs, known as diabolical signatures.The Malleus Maleficarum discusses several alleged instances of pacts with the Devil, especially concerning women.It was considered that all witches and warlocks had made a pact with some demon, especially with Satan.According to demonology, there is a specific month, day of the week, and hour to call each demon, so the invocationfor a pact has to be done at the right time. Also, as each demon has a specific function, a certain demon is invokeddepending on what the conjurer is going to ask.In the narrative of the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus is offered a series of bargains by the devil, in which he is promisedworldly riches and glory in exchange for serving the devil rather than God. After Jesus rejects the devil's offers, heembarks on his travels as the Messiah[2] (see Temptations of Christ).

Theophilus of Adana, servant of two mastersThe predecessor of Faustus in Christian mythology is Theophilus ("Friend of God" or "Beloved of god") theunhappy and despairing cleric, disappointed in his worldly career by his bishop, who sells his soul to the Devil but isredeemed by the Virgin Mary. His story appears in a Greek version of the sixth century written by a "Eutychianus"who claims to have been a member of the household in question.A ninth-century Miraculum Sancte Marie de Theophilo penitente inserts a Virgin as intermediary with diabolus, his"patron", providing the prototype of a closely linked series in the Latin literature of the West.[3]

In the tenth century, the poet nun Hroswitha of Gandersheim adapted the text of Paulus Diaconus for a narrativepoem that elaborates Theophilus' essential goodness and internalizes the seduction of Good and Evil, in which thedevil is magus, a necromancer. As in her model, Theophilus receives back his contract from the devil, displays it tothe congregation, and soon dies.A long poem on the subject by Gautier de Coincy (1177/81236), entitled blindfold Theophilus vine a pnitenceprovided material for a thirteenth-century play by Rutebeuf, Le Miracle de Thophile, where Theophilus is thecentral pivot in a frieze of five characters, the Virgin and the Bishop flanking him on the side of Good, the Jew andthe Devil on the side of Evil.

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Alleged diabolical pacts in history

Urbain Grandier's alleged diabolical pact

Non-musicians

Johann Georg Faust, whose life was the origin of the Faustlegend.[4]

Urbain Grandier, seventeenth-century French priest, whowas tried and burned at the stake for witchcraft. One ofthe documents presented at his trial was a diabolical pacthe supposedly signed, which also bears what are supposedto be the seals of several demons, including that of Satanhimself.

Jonathan Moulton, eighteenth-century brigadier general ofthe New Hampshire Militia, alleged to have sold his soulto the Devil to have his boots filled with gold coins whenhung by the fireplace every month.

Musicians

The idea of "selling your soul for instrumental mastery/fame"has occurred several times: Niccol Paganini, Italian violinist, who may not have

started the rumour but played along with it. Giuseppe Tartini, Venetian violinist and composer, who

believed that his Devil's Trill Sonata was inspired by the Devil's appearance before him in a dream. Tommy Johnson, blues musician Robert Johnson, blues musician, whom legend claims to have met Satan at a crossroads and signed over his soul

to play the blues and gain mastery of the guitar. Infernus, black metal musician; according to the Gorgoroth site, he founded the band "[a]fter making a pact with

the Devil in 1992".

Metaphorical use of the termThe term "a pact with the Devil" is also used metaphorically to condemn a person or persons perceived as havingcollaborated with an evil person or regime. An example of this is the still-controversial case of Rudolf Kastner inIsrael, in which the term was used in reference to Kastner's collaboration with Adolf Eichmann during the Holocaustin 1944 Hungary. According to some, the term served to inflame public hatred against Kastner, culminating in hisassassination.

Notes[1][1] Stith Thompson, Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, 2nd ed. (Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1955-58), vol. 5, pp. 39-40.[2][2] Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13[3] Representative examples of the Latin tradition were analysed by Moshe Lazar, "Theophilus: Servant of Two Masters. The Pre-Faustian

Theme of Despair and Revolt" in Modern Language Notes 87.6, (Nathan Edelman Memorial Issue November 1972) pp. 3150.[4] Ruickbie, Leo (2009). Faustus: The Life and Times of a Renaissance Magician. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-5090-9.

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External links The Smith outwits the Devil (http:/ / oaks. nvg. org/ ntales13. html#smith): a Norwegian folktale

Article Sources and Contributors 5

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Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Haitzmann pakt.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Haitzmann_pakt.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: ChristophFile:Michael Pacher 004.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Michael_Pacher_004.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: AnRo0002, AndreasPraefcke, Aristeas,Atlantia, Beetjedwars, Bukk, EDUCA33E, Joseolgon, Mattes, Moros, Pimbrils, Sailko, Shakko, 1 anonymous editsFile:UrbainPact2.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:UrbainPact2.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Urbain Grandier

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Deal with the DevilOverviewTheophilus of Adana, servant of two mastersAlleged diabolical pacts in history Non-musiciansMusicians

Metaphorical use of the termNotesExternal links

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