Of the Voppers, or Demoniacs.
Of the Voppers, or Demoniacs.
HE xiijth chapter is about the Voppers.
These beggars are for the most part women,
who allow themselves to be led in
chains as if they were raving mad; they tear their
shifts from their bodies, in order that they may deceive
people. There are also some that do both,
VOPPERY and DUTZING, together. This is VOPPING,
viz. when one begs for his wife’s or any other person’s
sake and says she has been possessed of a devil
(tho’ there is no truth in it), and he has vowed to
some Saint (whom he names), and must have xij
pounds of wax or other things whereby the person
will be delivered from the power of the devil. These
are called Dutzing-Voppers.
Conclusio: This is a wicked and false way of begging. They sing,—
There are also some Vopperinae, id est, women,
who pretend that they have diseases of the breast.
They take a cow’s spleen, and peel it on one side,
and then lay it upon their bosom—the peeled part
outside—besmearing it with blood, in order that
people may think it is the breast. These are the
Vopperinae.