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Title: The Book of WereWolves
Author: Sabine Baring-Gould
Release Date: March, 2004 [EBook #5324]
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THE BOOK OF WEREWOLVES
by SABINE BARING-GOULD
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTORY
LYCANTHROPY AMONG THE ANCIENTS
Definition of LycanthropyâMarcellus
SidetesâVirgilâHerodotusâOvidâPlinyâAgriopasâStory from
PetroniusâArcadian LegendsâExplanation offered
THE WEREWOLF IN THE NORTH
Norse TraditionsâManner in which the Change was effectedâVlundar
KvdaâInstances from the Völsung SagaâHrolfâs SagaâKrakaâFaroĂ«se
PoemâHelga KvidaâVatnsdĂŠla SagaâEyrbyggja Saga
THE ORIGIN OF THE SCANDINAVIAN WEREWOLF
Advantage of the Study of Norse LiteratureâBear and Wolfskin
DressesâThe BerserkirâTheir RageâThe Story of ThorirâPassages from
the AiglaâThe Evening WolfâSkallagrim and his Son-Derivation of the
Word âHamr:â of âVargrââLaws affecting OutlawsââTo become a
BoarââRecapitulation
THE WEREWOLF IN THE MIDDLE AGES
Stories from Olaus Magnus of Livonian WerewolvesâStory from Bishop
MajolusâStory of Albertus PericofciusâSimilar occurrence at
PragueâSaint PatrickâStrange incident related by John of
NĂŒrembergâBisclaveretâCourland WerewolvesâPierre VidalâPavian
LycanthropistâBodinâs StoriesâForestusâ Account of a
LycanthropistâNeapolitan Werewolf
A CHAPTER OF HORRORS
Pierre Bourgot and Michel VerdungââMe Hermit of S. BonnotâThe
Gandillon FamilyâThievenne PagetâThe Tailor of ChĂąlonsâRoulet 69
JEAN GRENIER
On the Sand-dunesâA Wolf attacks Marguerite PoirierâJean Grenier
brought to TrialâHis ConfessionsâCharges of Cannibalism provedâHis
SentenceâBehaviour in the MonasteryâVisit of Delâancre 85
FOLKLORE RELATING TO WEREWOLVES
Barrenness of English FolkloreâDevonshire TraditionsâDerivation of
WerewolfâCannibalism in ScotlandâThe Angus RobberâThe Carle of
PerthâFrench SuperstitionsâNorwegian TraditionsâDanish Tales of
WerewolvesâHolstein StoriesâThe Werewolf in the NetherlandsâAmong
the Greeks; the Serbs; the White Russians; the Poles; the RussiansâA
Russian Receipt for becoming a WerewolfâThe Bohemian
VlkodlakâArmenian StoryâIndian TalesâAbyssinian BudasâAmerican
Transformation TalesâA Slovakian Household TaleâSimilar Greek,
BĂ©arnais, and Icelandic Tales
NATURAL CAUSES OF LYCANTHROPY
Innate CrueltyâIts Three FormsâDumollardâAndreas BichelâA Dutch
PriestâOther instances of Inherent CrueltyâCruelty united to
RefinementâA Hungarian Bather in BloodâSuddenness with which the
Passion is developedâCannibalism; in pregnant Women; in
ManiacsâHallucination; how ProducedâSalvesâThe Story of
LuciusâSelf-deception 130
MYTHOLOGICAL ORIGIN OF THE WEREWOLF MYTH
MetempsychosisâSympathy between Men and BeastsâFinnbog and the
BearâOsage and the BeaverâThe Connexion of Soul and
BodyâBuddismâCase of Mr. HollowayâPopular ideas concerning the
BodyâThe derivation of the German LeichnamâFeather
DressesâTransmigration of SoulsâA Basque StoryâStory from the
PantschatantraâSavage ideas regarding Natural PhenomenaâThunder,
Lightning, and CloudâThe origin of the DragonâJohn of Bromtonâs
Dragon a WaterspoutâThe Legend of TyphoeusâAllegorizing of the
Effects of a HurricaneâAnthropomorphosisâThe Cirrus Cloud, a
Heavenly SwanâUrvaciâThe Storm-cloud a DaemonâVritra and
RakschasasâStory of a Brahmin and a Rakschasas
THE MARĂCHAL DE REZT I: THE INVESTIGATION OF CHARGES
IntroductionâHistory of Gilles de LavalâThe Castle of
MachecoulâSurrender of the MarshalâExamination of WitnessesâLetter
of De RetzâThe Duke of Brittany reluctant to moveâThe Bishop of
Nantes
THE MARĂCHAL DE REZT II: THE TRIAL
The Appearance of the MarshalâPierre de lâHospitalâThe
RequisitionâThe Trial adjournedâMeeting of the Marshal and his
ServantsâThe Confession of HenrietâPontou persuaded to confess
allâThe adjourned Trial not hurried onâThe hesitation of the Duke of
Brittany
MARĂCHAL DE RETZ III: THE SENTENCE AND EXECUTION
The adjourned TrialâThe Marshal ConfessesâThe Case handed over to
the Ecclesiastical TribunalâPrompt steps taken by the BishopâThe
SentenceâRatified by the Secular CourtâThe Execution
A GALICIAN WEREWOLF
The Inhabitants of Austrian GaliciaâThe Hamlet of PolomyjaâSummer
Evening in the ForestâThe Beggar SwiatekâA Girl disappearsâA
School-boy vanishesâA Servant-girl lostâAnother Boy carried ofâThe
Discovery made by the Publican of PolomyjaâSwiatek locked upâBrought
to DabkowâCommits suicide
ANOMALOUS CASEâTHE HUMAN HYENA
GhoulsâStory from FornariâQuotation from ApuleiusâIncident
mentioned by MarcassusâCemeteries of Paris violatedâDiscovery of
ViolatorâConfession of M. Bertrand
A SERMON ON WEREWOLVES
The Discourses of Dr. JohannâThe SermonâRemarks
THE BOOK OF WEREWOLVES.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
I shall never forget the walk I took one night in Vienne, after having
accomplished the examination of an unknown Druidical relic, the Pierre
labie, at La Rondelle, near Champigni. I had learned of the existence
of this cromlech only on my arrival at Champigni in the afternoon, and
I had started to visit the curiosity without calculating the time it
would take me to reach it and to return. Suffice it to say that I
discovered the venerable pile of grey stones as the sun set, and that
I expended the last lights of evening in planning and sketching. I
then turned my face homeward. My walk of about ten miles had wearied
me, coming at the end of a long dayâs posting, and I had lamed myself
in scrambling over some stones to the Gaulish relic.
A small hamlet was at no great distance, and I betook myself thither,
in the hopes of hiring a trap to convey me to the posthouse, but I was
disappointed. Few in the place could speak French, and the priest,
when I applied to him, assured me that he believed there was no better
conveyance in the place than a common charrue with its solid wooden
wheels; nor was a riding horse to be procured. The good man offered to
house me for the night; but I was obliged to decline, as my family
intended starting early on the following morning.
Out spake then the mayorââMonsieur can never go back tonight across
the flats, because of theâtheââ and his voice dropped; âthe
loups-garoux.â
âHe says that he must return!â replied the priest in patois. âBut who
will go with him?â
âAh, ha,! M. le CurĂ©. It is all very well for one of us to accompany
him, but think of the coming back alone!â
âThen two must go with him,â said the priest, and you can take care of
each other as you return.â
âPicou tells me that he saw the werewolf only this day seânnight,â
said a peasant; âhe was down by the hedge of his buckwheat field, and
the sun had set, and he was thinking of coming home, when he heard a
rustle on the far side of the hedge. He looked over, and there stood
the wolf as big as a calf against the horizon, its tongue out, and its
eyes glaring like marsh-fires. Mon Dieu! catch me going over the
marais tonight. Why, what could two men do if they were attacked by
that wolf-fiend?â
âIt is tempting Providence,â said one of the elders of the village;â
no man must expect the help of God if he throws himself wilfully in
the way of danger. Is it not so, M. le Curé? I heard you say as much
from the pulpit on the first Sunday in Lent, preaching from the
Gospel.â
âThat is true,â observed several, shaking their heads.
âHis tongue hanging out, and his eyes glaring like marsh-fires!â said
the confidant of Picou.
âMon Dieu! if I met the monster, I should run,â quoth another.
âI quite believe you, Cortrez; I can answer for it that you would,â
said the mayor.
âAs big as a calf,â threw in Picouâs friend.
âIf the loup-garou were only a natural wolf, why then, you seeââthe
mayor cleared his throatââyou see we should think nothing of it; but,
M. le CurĂ©, it is a fiend, a worse than fiend, a man-fiend,âa worse
than man-fiend, a man-wolf-fiend.â
âBut what is the young monsieur to do?â asked the priest, looking from
one to another.
âNever mind,â said I, who had been quietly listening to their patois,
which I understood. âNever mind; I will walk back by myself, and if I
meet the loup-garou I will crop his ears and tail, and send them to M.
le Maire with my compliments.â
A sigh of relief from the assembly, as they found themselves clear of
the difficulty.
âIl est Anglais,â said the mayor, shaking his head, as though he meant
that an Englishman might face the devil with impunity.
A melancholy flat was the marais, looking desolate enough by day, but
now, in the gloaming, tenfold as desolate. The sky was perfectly
clear, and of a soft, blue-grey tinge; illumined by the new moon, a
curve of light approaching its western bed. To the horizon reached a
fen, blacked with pools of stagnant water, from which the frogs kept
up an incessant trill through the summer night. Heath and fern covered
the ground, but near the water grew dense masses of flag and bulrush,
amongst which the light wind sighed wearily. Here and there stood a
sandy knoll, capped with firs, looking like black splashes against the
grey sky; not a sign of habitation anywhere; the only trace of men
being the white, straight road extending for miles across the fen.
That this district harboured wolves is not improbable, and I confess
that I armed myself with a strong stick at the first clump of trees
through which the road dived.
This was my first introduction to werewolves, and the circumstance of
finding the superstition still so prevalent, first gave me the idea of
investigating the history and the habits of these mythical creatures.
I must acknowledge that I have been quite unsuccessful in obtaining a
specimen of the animal, but I have found its traces in all directions.
And just as the palĂŠontologist has constructed the labyrinthodon out
of its footprints in marl, and one splinter of bone, so may this
monograph be complete and accurate, although I have no chained
werewolf before me which I may sketch and describe from the life.
The traces left are indeed numerous enough, and though perhaps like
the dodo or the dinormis, the werewolf may have become extinct in our
age, yet he has left his stamp on classic antiquity, he has trodden
deep in Northern snows. has ridden rough-shod over the mediĂŠvals, and
has howled amongst
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