The Infallible True And Assured Witch

John Cotta’s treatise addresses the realities of witchcraft as understood in the early modern period, presenting legal, theological, and medical arguments for identifying witches. Its historical importance comes from its role in shaping learned debate about witchcraft, and readers will find case-based reasoning, definitions, and warnings about deception and discernment.

John Cotta (c. 1575–1650) was an English physician and medical writer whose works intersected with early modern debates about witchcraft, demons, and supernatural causation. His writings are notable for attempting to distinguish natural causes from supposed magical or diabolical phenomena, thereby contributing to the intellectual background of anti-witchcraft and proto-rational critique.