The historical werewolf

The tradition's werewolflegends was as common in the medieval Europe as in the ancient time. Some people in Poland, Estonia and Letvia was seen for example as witches and thought that they transformed to werewolves once a year. The histories remained in the area for centuries, which is shown in a lettvian court protocol from 1555 in which a man "who never been known to be without common sense" he confessed how he and other farmers had walked out to the wilderness, together taken off their clothes, and instantly been transformed to wolves. "In this shape", the document says, "they ripped every animal they met", even horses and cows.

Such ritual transformations is mentioned in histories from Livland (now a part of the Republics Litva and Estonia) who describes ceremonies that occured during Christmas. The Christmas were, because of its association with the winter solstice, traditionally a period of magical activities. According to a legend - written during the 1500's - thousands of people in the area were forced - on december 26th - to follow a mystic, handicapped boy out on the countryside. These slaves to the Devil, which they were called, transformed to ravaging wolfs who hunted animals in an orgie that lasted for tvelwe days. Then they retreived their human shape, fell to the ground like if they suddenly got a decease, and they remained "immovable and knocked out like corps, with no emotions". Sadly enough the writing doesn't tell us what happend next.

Ireland were a treasury of werewolf legends, maybe because wolfs remained there a long time after they almost got exterminated in England. Once the Green Island were called Wolfland, and the impressive irish wolfdog - "bigger legs and limbs than a young horse", as an author from the 1500's expressed it - was raised to stand up to its namesake, S:t Patrick himself was told to transform Vereticus, the king of Wales, to a wolf.

Were the real world and the fantasy starts and ends in such stories are impossible to find out. But romantic stories about werewolves remained for many years in Europe, which shows that a big audiens was willing to belive the metaphor.

The Englishman Gervase of Tilbury, a scholastic who wrote between 1210 and 1214, tells us that "in England we often see men who is transformed to wolfs by the changes of the moon". Gervase's Otia Imperialia, a collection of Midieval legends and superstitions, contents the history about Raimbaud de Pinetum of Auvergne, a former soldier who became an outlaw. Banished to the woods Raimbaud transformed to a werewolf and started to attack children and adults. His ravages continued until he attacked a carpenter who cut of one of his hind legs, and he got his human shape back. According to the history Raimbaud thanked his contemplated victim for releasing him "from the eternal damned and devilish shape". This got Gervaise to add: "It often comes reports and is told by serious and eminent doctors that if a werewolf loses one of his bodyparts he gets his origin shape."

An 1100's-story comes from Ireland about werewolves. In his Topographia Hiberniae the churchly Gerald of Wales tells us about a priest and a boy who travelled from Ulster towards Meath. One night they stopped in an unknown forest and arranged a fireplace under a big tree, and shortly after a wolf came closer and talked with a human voice. "Don't be worried, don't be afraid in any way." The wolf then started to tell his sad story.

He was a man, he said, who had lived with his wife in the old kingdom Ossory in southwest Leinster. The kingdom were, of reasons who didn't get precised, put under a curse: Every seven years a couple of farmers were condemned to leave their human shape and live as wolves. And if they survived the trial they could live as humans again and return to their homes and another couple could take their place. He and his wife had served a part of the sentence, the wolf said, but now she was sick, maybe even dying. When he tells his story he turned to the preist and said:
"I beg to your good heart to comfort her in your capacity of a servant to the church" - this means to give her the extreme unction, and let her die as a good Christian.

The preist agreed to do so and together with the boy they followed the wolf in to the deep forest, were they found the she-wolf hidden in a hole in a tree, moaning with "sad human sighs". The preist was willing to give the extreme unction, but hesitated to give an animal the Holy Communion - until the wolf with his claws pulled the fur away from his wife's head and showed an old woman's body.

When the preist was done the wolf showed them the way back to their camp and the next morning he escorted them to safety. What then happened to the animals the story doesn't tell. And to give strength to the truth Gerald says that the story has been taken to Rome to be checked by the pope.

From such gossip like histories as Gerald's and Gervase's as well as from the folklore the Medieval authors wrote wanton stories. Werewolfs existed in stories about evil stepmothers and hierings being lost, and in one a story about a cruel unfaithfulness.

This was Lay of the Werewolf, a romantic story written during the 1200's by Marie de France, a french lady who wrote to the english court. Her history were about a noble household in Bretagne, who's ruler, a baroness, was doubting her husbands faithfulness; he disappeared three nights every week. When she asked him he revealed his secret. Because of a curse he was damned to live the nights as a werewolf - bisclaravet, in a Bretonian dialect - and live in blood and violence. What gave him human shape were clothes, he said. When he took them off he became a wolf. His revealing were uncareful.

With disgust the baroness talked one of the court's knights to steal her husband's clothes while he was a wolf. The knight did so and condemned the baron to live in the forest as a wolf for all eternity. The baroness declaired herself to be a widow, married her acomplice and everything could've turned out well if hadn't been for the king of Bretagne. When he was hunting in the woods he met the werewolf. Pushed in to a corner and scratched by the dogs the baron took a desperate chance. He grabbed the king's stirrup with his claws and licked his former master's boot. The king got stunned and took the strange creature to the court were he became the royal pet and was treated with respect by everyone. Of gratitude the wolf showed exemplary manners.

But then the knight arrived to the castle. The werewolf, who usually were calm, recognized the betrayor, suddenly attacked the knight. The king and the wolf visited the unfaithful baroness later. The wolf throw himself over her and bite of her nose. After that the truth was releaved. The baroness confirmed her crimes and she returned her husband's clothes, which gave him his origin shape. And because of their betray the baroness and the knight were driven to exile.

With the time the point was reached were histories which had been told as entertainment was placed of real events och real suffering. Suddenly stories such as Stubbe's was told. It was like if werewolves were seen everywhere. The court protocol over werewolf-trials reveals something that could be taken as an epedemic.

Only in France between the years 1520 and 1630 had about 30.000 persons the unluck to be called werewolves. Many of them became the subject for crime investigations and torture, confessed and died a horrible death at the stake. Those who got away that destiny the trauma of being questioned have left life long scars.