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and I looked for an english version without any luck, it may be a stretch, but can anyone in here read french? If so, can they translate the paragraph about the books description?
I have seen the cover for this book before and it is allegedly said to describe what these 'shapeshifting man wolves' really are, I dont think its available in english though.
The 42 sharp teeth and howls of the Canis lupus, even outside the evenings of full moon, have fueled the fantasies of dozens of generations. The devil takes two faces from Jean Beauvoys de Chauvincourt: the acrobat (to whom he dedicates the first European work in vulgar language: Three dialogues on the art of jumping and flying in the air, (1599) and the werewolf, the subject of his Speech of Lycanthropy on the metamorphosis of men into wolves, published the same year. These two exceptional beings are endowed with "demonic" powers. The author adheres with ease to the evils of lycanthropy. With destabilizing naivety and a rare infatuation, he reveals the extent and depth of an ancestral belief shared by his contemporaries whose object, in the form of a collective obsession, is the wolf, and according to which the devil transforms men into four-legged predators. The werewolf is the one who marginalizes and lowers to the point of bestiality. It is the offspring of nothingness, emerged from hell and the tomb.
Translated by translates online. If I understand this correctly, this was written in the year 1599.
The 42 sharp teeth and howls of the Canis lupus, even outside the evenings of full moon, have fueled the fantasies of dozens of generations. The devil takes two faces from Jean Beauvoys de Chauvincourt: the acrobat (to whom he dedicates the first European work in vulgar language: Three dialogues on the art of jumping and flying in the air, (1599) and the werewolf, the subject of his Speech of Lycanthropy on the metamorphosis of men into wolves, published the same year. These two exceptional beings are endowed with "demonic" powers. The author adheres with ease to the evils of lycanthropy. With destabilizing naivety and a rare infatuation, he reveals the extent and depth of an ancestral belief shared by his contemporaries whose object, in the form of a collective obsession, is the wolf, and according to which the devil transforms men into four-legged predators. The werewolf is the one who marginalizes and lowers to the point of bestiality. It is the offspring of nothingness, emerged from hell and the tomb.
Translated by translates online. If I understand this correctly, this was written in the year 1599.
Thank you!
The deeper I delve into this topic, the tougher it becomes, it seems like majority of the information on these things come from France, Africa and Ireland, and unfortunately they were usually not translated into english, and even when I do get to read some of it translated, its VERY tough to comprehend, they also frequently refer to earlier books, some going back to the 1100s, and those writings are nearly impossible to find today...
However, the overall jist of what Im come to understand from all these old writings...there were indeed some 'extraordinary' people(s), very few though, that apparently had the ability to transform into animals, some retaining human characteristics (half human-half animal hybrid), and it seems they were only able to do this at certain times of the year, and the catalyst for the transformation was either an ointment/unguent, or the act of swimming across a certain body of water. Nearly all the early authors of such books were in agreement, this was demonic in origin.
The deeper I delve into this topic, the tougher it becomes, it seems like majority of the information on these things come from France, Africa and Ireland, and unfortunately they were usually not translated into english, and even when I do get to read some of it translated, its VERY tough to comprehend, they also frequently refer to earlier books, some going back to the 1100s, and those writings are nearly impossible to find today...
Start here:
The Beast Within: A History of the Werewolf, by Adam Douglas.
I think it's out of print, but used copies are easy to find. It's the best "overview" of the werewolf you'll find. It covers all areas: Mythology, History, Anthropology, Psychology, Literature, and the movies.
The Beast Within: A History of the Werewolf, by Adam Douglas.
I think it's out of print, but used copies are easy to find. It's the best "overview" of the werewolf you'll find. It covers all areas: Mythology, History, Anthropology, Psychology, Literature, and the movies.
Ive looked at that book, (but have not bought it yet), Im not really interested in any of the modern information, Im more interested in hearing about this in ancient times, (Im one of those people who believe some secrets from ancient times have been totally lost) and this may be one of them.
Id like to get my hands on those books from the 1100s, but I doubt that will happen.
Although I will say one thing, it is very interesting that the whole 'werewolf' thing has been spoken and wondered about for so long...I dont think even Bigfoot stories go THAT far back, or come from so many different cultures either.
I did read one interesting thing, that you may be surprised to hear...I know you have sort of been suspicious of werewolves being 'half man-half wolf' creatures, when many werewolf stories from the past, depict them as people who turn into NORMAL size wolves, not some hybrid creature...apparently the werewolves that retain some human characteristics cannot transform fully into a wolf...(they sort of get stuck at the half way point) and can change no further...these creatures were said to be not full fledged werewolves, more like halfbreeds...but oddly, in modern time, the 'half human-half wolf' is what people think of as a werewolf...and to be honest, If I had this ability, Id much rather turn into the hybrid than a normal wolf!
Ive looked at that book, (but have not bought it yet), Im not really interested in any of the modern information, Im more interested in hearing about this in ancient times,
Then read that book. It has entire chapters on the pre-historic roots of the werewolf, ancient accounts, mythology, the Middle Ages, etc. It explains when and probably why humans first started believing in animal transformation, which cultures revered which animals and why, how werewolves transformed and why, how that all interacted with other belief systems, what happened in the Middle Ages, etc., etc., etc. It even tells you how "the full moon" came into the story. (FYI: Dick Miller's speech in The Howling, while great (when wasn't Dick Miller great?), is totally wrong!) And it has info on why silver supposedly can be used to ward off the werewolf (this is more complex).
It also details a lot of those books you're trying to get hold of, which are largely not in print or do not have English translations available.
And I say this with all due respect, it will help to correct a lot of the erroneous claims you often make in the forums about the werewolf myth. I often get the impression you pretty much have your mind made up about what you want ”real” werewolves to be, and you're trying to collect evidence to support that while ignoring evidence that doesn't support it. Am I wrong?
Then read that book. It has entire chapters on the pre-historic roots of the werewolf, ancient accounts, mythology, the Middle Ages, etc. It explains when and probably why humans first started believing in animal transformation, which cultures revered which animals and why, how werewolves transformed and why, how that all interacted with other belief systems, what happened in the Middle Ages, etc., etc., etc. It even tells you how "the full moon" came into the story. (FYI: Dick Miller's speech in The Howling, while great (when wasn't Dick Miller great?), is totally wrong!) And it has info on why silver supposedly can be used to ward off the werewolf (this is more complex).
It also details a lot of those books you're trying to get hold of, which are largely not in print or do not have English translations available.
And I say this with all due respect, it will help to correct a lot of the erroneous claims you often make in the forums about the werewolf myth. I often get the impression you pretty much have your mind made up about what you want ”real” werewolves to be, and you're trying to collect evidence to support that while ignoring evidence that doesn't support it. Am I wrong?
Correct, to some degree, but I would say many on this board are the exact same way too.
You could check your local library to see if they do inter-library loan. Not all of them work the same way, but some of them do have a nationwide search for a book. There might be a charge, it’ll probably still be in French, but you could use Google translate to get an idea of what’s going on. Keep in mind if they haven’t updated this it might be in an older version of French using words that aren’t in existence today and might not be in a dictionary. Barring that you could go to your local college and see if you could find a French student who wants to make a couple hundred bucks and pay them to read it and give you a synopsis.
__________________ Solly says — Be nice!
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Solly says — Be nice!
