THE WER-WOLF TRIALS
In Poitou the peasants have a curious expression, "courir la
galipote," which means to turn into a wer-wolf or other human-animal
by night and chase prey through the woods. The _galipote_ is the
familiar or imp which the sorcerer has the power to send forth.
In the dark ages sorcerers capable of this accomplishment were dealt
with according to the law, and hundreds were sent to trial for
practising black arts, being condemned, in most instances, to be burnt
alive or broken on the wheel. One of the most notorious historical
cases was that of Pierre Bourgot, who served the devil for two years
and was tried by the Inquisitor-General Boin.
Johannus Wierius[34] gives in full the confession of Bourgot,
otherwise called Great Peter, and of Michael Verding. The prisoners,
who were accused of wicked practices in December, 1521, believed they
had been transformed into wolves.
About nineteen years before Pierre's arrest at Pouligny a dreadful
storm occurred which scattered the flock of sheep of which he was
shepherd, and while he went far afield to search for them he met three
black horsemen, one of whom said to him, "Where are you going, my
friend? You appear to be in trouble."
Pierre told him that he was seeking his sheep, and the horseman bade
him take courage, saying that if he would only have faith, his master
would protect the straying sheep and see that no harm came to them.
Pierre thanked him and promised to meet him again in the same place a
few days later. Soon afterwards he found the stray sheep.
The black horseman, at their second meeting, told Pierre that he served
the devil, and Pierre agreed to do likewise if he promised him
protection for his flock. Then the devil's servant made him renounce
God, the Virgin Mary, and all the saints of Paradise, his baptism and
the tenets of Christianity. Pierre swore that he would do so, and kissed
the horseman's left hand, which was as black as ink and felt stone-cold.
Then he knelt down and took an oath of allegiance to the devil, and the
horseman forbade him thenceforth to repeat the Apostles' creed.
For two years Pierre remained in the service of the evil one, and
during that time he never entered a church until mass was over, or at
least until after the holy water had been sprinkled.
Meanwhile his flock was kept in perfect safety, and this sense of
security made him so indifferent about the devil that he began to go
to church again and to say the creed. This went on for eight or nine
years, when he was told by one Michael Verding that he must once more
render obedience to the evil one, his master. In return for his homage
Pierre was told that he would receive a sum of money.
Michael led him one evening to a clearing in the woods at Chastel
Charlon, where many strangers were dancing. Each performer held in his
hand a green torch which emitted a blue flame. Michael told Pierre to
bestir himself and that then he would receive payment, so Pierre threw
off his clothes and Michael smeared his body with an ointment which he
carried. Pierre believed that he had been transformed into a wolf, and
was horrified to find that he had four paws and a thick pelt. He found
himself able to run with the speed of the wind. Michael had also made
use of the salve and had become equally agile. After an hour or two
they resumed human shape, their respective masters giving them
another salve for this purpose. After this experience Pierre
complained that he felt utterly weary, and his master told him that
was of no consequence and that he would be speedily restored to his
usual state of health.
Pierre was often transformed into a wer-wolf after this first attempt,
and on one occasion he fell upon a boy of seven with the intention of
killing and eating him, but the child screamed so loudly that he beat a
hasty retreat to the spot where his clothes lay in a heap, rubbed
himself hurriedly with the ointment and resumed human form to escape
capture. Another time Michael and he killed an old woman who was
gathering peas, and one day whilst in the shape of wolves they devoured
the whole of a little girl except for one arm, and Michael said her
flesh tasted excellent, although it apparently gave Pierre indigestion.
They confessed also to strangling a young woman, whose blood they drank.
Among other disgusting crimes, Pierre murdered a girl of eight in a
garden by cracking her neck between his jaws, and he killed a goat
near to the farm of one Master Pierre Lerugen, first by setting on it
with his teeth and then by gashing its throat with a knife. The latter
operation leads to the belief that he had resumed his ordinary shape
at the time.
A peculiar point worth noticing about the case of Michael and Pierre
was that the former was able to transform himself at any moment with
his clothes on, while the latter had to strip and rub in ointment to
achieve the same result. At the time of his confession Pierre declared
that he could not recollect where the wolf's fur went to when he
became human again.
He also deposed that an ash-coloured powder was given to him, which he
rubbed upon his arms and left hand and thus caused the death of every
animal he touched. Here there would seem to be some discrepancy, for
he declared that in many instances he strangled, bit, or wounded his
victims!
Garinet[35] gives a good account of the important trial in 1573 of
Gilles Garnier, who was arrested for having devoured several children
whilst in the form of a wer-wolf.
The prisoner was accused of seizing a young girl aged ten or twelve in
a vineyard near Dôle, of killing her and dragging her into a wood, and
of tearing the flesh from her bones with his teeth and claws. He found
this food so palatable that he carried some of it away with him and
offered to share it with his wife. A week after the feast of All
Saints he captured another young girl near the village of La Pouppé,
and was about to slay and devour her when someone hastened to her
rescue and he took flight.
A week later, being still in the form of a wolf, he had killed and
eaten a boy at a spot between Gredisans and Menoté, about a league
from Dôle. He was accused also of being in the shape of a man when he
caught another boy of twelve or thirteen years of age and carried him
into the wood to strangle him, and, "in spite of the fact that it was
Friday," he would have devoured his flesh had he not been interrupted
by the approach of some strangers, who were too late, however, to save
the boy's life. Garnier, having admitted all the charges against him,
the judge pronounced the following sentence:--
"The condemned man is to be dragged to the place of execution and
there burnt alive and his body reduced to ashes."
The account of the trial, which took place on the 18th day of January,
1573, was accompanied by a letter from Daniel d'Ange to the Dean of
the Church of Sens which contained the following passage:--
"Gilles Garnier, lycophile, as I may call him, lived the life of a
hermit, but has since taken a wife, and having no means of support for
his family fell into the way, as is natural to defiant and desperate
people of rude habits, of wandering into the woods and wild places. In
this state he was met by a phantom in the shape of a man, who told
him that he could perform miracles, among other things declaring that
he would teach him how to change at will into a wolf, lion, or
leopard, and because the wolf is more familiar in this country than
the other kinds of wild beasts he chose to disguise himself in that
shape, which he did, using a salve with which he rubbed himself for
this purpose, as he has since confessed before dying, after
recognising the evil of his ways."[36]
The affair made such a stir in the neighbourhood, and the dread of
wer-wolves had risen to such a pitch, that it was found necessary to
ask the help of the populace in suppressing the nuisance. A legal
decree was issued which empowered the people at Dôle to "assemble with
javelins, pikes, arquebuses, and clubs to hunt and pursue the
wer-wolf, and to take, bind, and kill it without incurring the usual
fine or penalty for indulging in the chase without permission."
Boguet is the authority who cites the following cases of
lycanthropy:[37]
A boy called Benedict, aged about fifteen, one day climbed a tree to
gather some fruit, when he saw a wolf attacking his little sister, who
was playing at the foot of the tree.
The boy climbed down quickly, and the animal, which was tailless, let
go of the little girl and turned upon her brother, who defended
himself with a knife. According to the boy's account, the wolf tore
the knife out of his hand and struck at his throat. A neighbour ran to
the rescue and carried the boy home, where he died a few days after
from the wound. Whilst he lay dying he declared that the wolf which
had injured him had fore-paws shaped like human hands, but that its
hind feet were covered with fur.
After inquiry it was proved that a young and demented girl called
Perrenette Gandillon believed herself to be a wolf and had done this
horrible deed. She was caught by the populace and torn limb from limb.
This case occurred in the Jura mountains in 1598.
Soon afterwards Perrenette's brother Pierre was accused of being a
wer-wolf, and confessed that he had been to the witches' Sabbath in
this form. His son George had also been anointed with salve and had
killed goats whilst he was in animal shape. Antoinette, his sister,
was accused of sorcery and of intercourse with the devil, who appeared
to her in the form of a black goat. Several members of the Gandillon
family were arrested, and in prison Pierre and George conducted
themselves as though they were possessed, walking on all fours and
howling like wild beasts.
Not long after the Gandillon family had been disposed of, one Jeanne
Perrin gave evidence that she was walking near a wood with her friend
Clauda Gaillard, who disappeared suddenly behind a bush, and that the
next moment there came forth a tailless wolf which frightened her so
much that she made the sign of the cross and ran away. She was sure that
the hind legs of the wolf were like human limbs. When Clauda saw her
again she assured Jeanne that the wolf had not meant to do her harm, and
from this it was thought that Clauda had taken the shape of the wolf.
One of the best known of the wer-wolf trials concerns Jacques Rollet,
the man-wolf of Caude, who was accused of having devoured a little boy.
He was tried and condemned in Angers in 1598. Rollet came from the
parish of Maumusson, near to Nantes, and he carried on his practices
in a desolate spot near Caude, where some villagers one day found the
corpse of a boy of about fifteen, mangled and blood-bespattered. As
they approached the body three wolves bounded into the forest and were
lost to sight, but the men gave chase, and following in the animals'
tracks, came suddenly upon a half-naked human being, with long hair
and beard, his hands covered with blood and his teeth chattering with
fear. On his claw-like nails they found shreds of human flesh.
This miserable specimen of man-animal was hauled up before the judge,
and under examination he inquired of one of the witnesses whether he
remembered shooting at three wolves. The witness said he remembered
the incident perfectly. Rollet confessed that he was one of the wolves
and that he was able to transform himself by means of a salve. The
other wolves were his companions, Jean and Julian, who knew the same
means of acquiring animal shape. All the particulars he gave as to the
murder were accurate, and he confessed to having killed and eaten
women, lawyers, attorneys, and bailiffs, though the last-named he
found tough and tasteless. In other respects his evidence was
confused, and he was judged to be of weak intellect, and though
condemned to death was sent finally to a madhouse, where he was
sentenced to two years' detention.
There was an epidemic of lycanthropy throughout this year, and on the
4th of December a tailor of Châlons was burnt in Paris for having
decoyed children into his shop, a cask full of human bones being
discovered in the cellar. For the space of a few years no notorious
wer-wolf trials appear to have taken place, but the year 1603 was
almost as prolific in this respect as 1598.
Information came before the criminal court at Roche Chalais that a
wild beast was ravaging the district, that it appeared to be a wolf,
and that it had attacked a young girl called Margaret Poiret in full
daylight.[38]
A youth of thirteen or fourteen in the service of Peter Combaut
deposed to the fact that he had thrown himself upon the said Margaret,
whilst transformed into a wolf, and that he would have devoured her
had she not defended herself stoutly with a stick. He also confessed
to having eaten two or three little girls.
Evidence was given on May 29th, 1603, by three witnesses, one of whom
was Margaret herself. She said she had been accustomed to mind cattle
in the company of the boy, Jean Grenier, and that he had often
frightened her by telling her horrible tales about being able to
change into a wolf whenever he wished, and that he had killed many
dogs and sucked their blood, but that he preferred to devour young
children. He said he had recently killed a child, and after eating
part of her flesh had thrown the rest to a companion wolf.
Margaret described the beast which had attacked her as stouter and
shorter than a real wolf, with a smaller head, a short tail, and
reddish hide. After she struck at it, the animal drew back and sat
down on its haunches like a dog, at a distance of about twelve paces.
Its look was so ferocious that she ran away at once.
The third witness was Jeanne Gaboriaut, who was eighteen years old.
She gave evidence that one day, when she was tending cattle in company
with other girls, Jean Grenier came up and asked which was the most
beautiful shepherdess amongst them. Jeanne asked him why he wanted to
know. He said because he wished to marry the prettiest, and if it was
Jeanne he would choose her.
Jeanne said, "Who is your father?" and he told her that he was the son
of a priest.
Then she replied that he was too dark in appearance for her taste, and
when he answered he had been like that for a long time, she asked him
whether he had turned black from cold or whether he had been burnt
black.
He said the cause was a wolf's skin he was wearing, which had been
given to him by one Pierre Labourant, and when he wore it he could
turn into a wolf at will or any other animal he preferred, and he went
on with details similar to those he had disclosed to Margaret Poiret.
It was proved, however, that Grenier was not the son of a priest, but
of a labourer, Pierre Grenier, and that he lived in the parish of St.
Antoine de Pizan.
When questioned as to his crimes, he confessed to the assault upon
Margaret Poiret as described by her, and also that he had entered a
house in the guise of a wolf, and finding no one there but a babe in
its cradle he seized it by the throat and carried it behind a hedge in
the garden, where he ate as much of the body as he could and threw the
remainder to another wolf.
At St. Antoine de Pizan he attacked a girl in a black dress who was
tending sheep, and he killed and devoured her, a strange point being
that her dress was not torn, as happens in the case when real wolves
make the assault.
When questioned as to how he managed to turn into a wolf, he said that a
neighbour, called Pierre la Tilhaire, had introduced him in the forest
to the Lord thereof, who had given wolf-skins to both, as well as a
salve for anointing themselves. When asked where he kept the skins and
the pot of ointment he replied that they were in the hands of the Lord
of the Forest, from whom he could obtain them whenever he wished.
He declared that he had changed into a wolf and gone coursing four
times with his companion Pierre la Tilhaire, but they had killed no
one. The best time for the hunt was an hour or two a day when the moon
was on the wane, but he also went out at night on some occasions.
When asked whether his father knew of these proceedings, he replied in
the affirmative, and declared that his father had rubbed him three
times with the ointment and helped him into the wolf's skin.
The inquiry into Jean Grenier's case was a very lengthy one and was
adjourned several times, but eventually he was sentenced to
imprisonment for life at Bordeaux on September 6th, 1603, his youth
and want of mental development being pleaded in extenuation of the
crimes of infanticide he had undoubtedly committed. The president of
the Court declared that lycanthropy was a form of hallucination and
was not in itself a punishable crime. Jean's father was acquitted of
complicity, and allowed to leave the court without a stain on his
character, and Jean was sent to a monastery.
In 1610, after Jean had been at the Monastery of the Cordeliers in
Bordeaux for seven years, De Lancre, who relates his story, went to see
him. He was then about twenty years of age and of diminutive stature.
His black eyes were haggard and deep-set, and he refused to look anyone
straight in the face. His teeth were long, sharp, and protruding, his
nails were also long and black, and his mind was a mere blank.
He told De Lancre, not without pride, that he had been a wer-wolf, but
that he had given up the practice. When he first arrived at the
monastery he had preferred to go on all fours, eating such food as he
found on the ground. He confessed that he still craved for raw human
flesh, especially the flesh of little girls, and he hoped it would not
be long before he had another opportunity of tasting it. He had been
visited twice during his confinement by the Lord of the Forest, as he
called the mysterious person who had given him the wolf-skin, but that
both times he had made the sign of the cross and his visitor had
departed in haste.
In other respects his tale was identical with the experiences he had
related before the court.
De Lancre thought that the name Grenier or Garnier was a fatal name in
connection with wer-wolves.
Evidence was given as to the times, places, and number of murders, and
many of the facts were proved incontestably.
Jean's evidence as to the part his father had played in his misdeeds
was hazy. He said that on one occasion his father had accompanied him,
also wearing a wolf-skin, and that together they had killed a young
girl dressed in white, and that they had devoured her flesh, the month
being May of 1601.
He also added curious details regarding the Lord of the Forest, who
had forbidden him to bite the thumbnail of his left hand, which was
thicker and longer than the others, and that if he lost sight of it
while in the form of a wolf he would quickly recover his human shape.
When confronted with his father Jean altered some of the details of
his story, and it was agreed that long imprisonment and extended
cross-examination had worn out his already feeble intellect.
It is worth pointing out that in the cases of Rollet, the tailor of
Châlons, and the Gandillon family, the prisoners were accused of
murder and cannibalism, but not of association with wolves, and that
in the trial of Garnier evidence was given as to the depredations of
the wolf rather than of the accused. There was doubtless a difficulty
in proving the identity of the perpetrator of the murders.
A new era in these trials begins with that of Jean Grenier, for from
that time onward medical men became more enlightened, and the belief
spread that lycanthropy was a mental malady, with cannibalistic
tendencies which had developed under diseased conditions.
In his "Dæmonologie," 1597, a reply to Reginald Scott's "Discovery of
Witchcraft," James I of England declared that wer-wolves were victims
of a delusion induced by a state of melancholia, and about the same
period wolves became practically extinct in England, and only harmless
creatures such as the cat, hare, and weasel were left for the sorcerer
to change into with any possibility of a safe and natural disguise.
For many years afterwards the confessions of witches, who were
executed for their crimes, bore striking resemblance to those made by
wer-wolves, and many strange facts which were published at these
trials have never been, and may never be, satisfactorily explained on
a purely materialistic basis.
FOOTNOTES:
[34] "Histoires, Disputes et Discours des Illusions et Impostures des
Diables, etc.," 1579, p. 654.
[35] "Histoire de la Magie en France," 1818, pp. 129-31.
[36] Cimber, "Archives Curieuses de Histoire de France," 1836, Series
I, Vol. VIII, pp. 9-11.
[37] "Discours des Sorciers," 1610, pp. 361-2.
[38] _See_ De Lancre, Pierre, "Tableau de L'Inconstance des Mauvais
Anges et Demons," Paris, 1613, p. 255 _et seq._