Early modern Venetian exorcists did not practice in an intellectual vacuum. Healing clerics could (and were expected to) consult a range of authorities to inform their understanding of demons and possession as well as their treatments of those afflicted by malevolent forces. The prescriptive literature written for clerics included handbooks describing how to carry out the activities that filled the days of many clerics: blessing everything from sick parishioners to their houses, hearing confessions, saying mass, conducting baptisms, and so on. Other works were written specifically for exorcists, and focused on ritual and material means for fighting off the malevolent influences of demons. In addition to these practical books, many of the theoretical tracts on magic and demonology published in the witch-hunting era discussed how people were harmed by supernatural powers and what treatments might be attempted.