1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:10,920 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. 3 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 2: Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. 4 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,600 Speaker 1: Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. 5 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:20,799 Speaker 2: We have done several episodes about witch trials that took 6 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 2: place in Europe and North America during the early modern period, 7 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 2: especially in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. So that includes 8 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 2: our episodes on the Varda witch Trials of Norway in 9 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 2: sixteen twenty one, Matthew Hopkins who framed himself as witch 10 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 2: Finder General in East Anglia in the sixteen forties, and 11 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 2: the trial of Goody Garlic on Long Island in sixteen 12 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 2: fifty seven. There are some really old episodes by prior 13 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 2: hosts on the infamous Salem witch trials that started in 14 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 2: sixteen ninety two as well, and of course there is 15 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 2: our very recent episode on Alice Kittler involving the first 16 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 2: person to be burned and at the stake for witchcraft 17 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 2: in Ireland in thirteen twenty four, so that was really 18 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 2: centuries before these kinds of trials really peaked. We also 19 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,200 Speaker 2: have a past episode about someone who was tried for 20 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:19,759 Speaker 2: both witchcraft and lycanthropy that was Jiles Garnier, known as 21 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 2: the werewolf of dol who was convicted in fifteen seventy three. 22 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 2: We are talking about another convicted werewolf today, that is 23 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 2: Peter Stuba or Peter Stump, also known as the werewolf 24 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 2: of Bedburg. And these two Peter Steub and Gil's Garnier, 25 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,680 Speaker 2: they were not isolated cases. The concepts of witchcraft and 26 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 2: lycanthropy were interconnected during this period. Cultures all around the 27 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 2: world have stories and legends and folklore about people who 28 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 2: can't shape shift into animals or animals that take on 29 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 2: human form. This episode is not a remotely comprehensive overview 30 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 2: of this kind of shape shifting or even of where 31 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 2: wolves in general. This is just focused on Western Europe, 32 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 2: specifically in what is now Germany and the surrounding area 33 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 2: in the early modern period. Uh Also, this episode is 34 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 2: grizzly and disturbing. The charges against Peter Stump included things 35 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 2: like gruesome murders and cannibalism and incest and rape, among 36 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 2: other things. If there's anything that you might want to 37 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 2: be warned about, it's probably in here. Honestly, spiders, there's 38 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 2: no spiders. I exactly was thinking spiders and I was like, 39 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 2: there's no spiders, no snakes either, or ragnophobes are safe. 40 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,800 Speaker 1: But what we are going to start with is wolves. Today, 41 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: in Europe and North America, it is extremely rare for 42 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: a person to be attacked by a wolf, especially in 43 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: the wild. The biggest exceptions involves wolves, including rabid wolves 44 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: and attacks involving people who are out with their dogs. 45 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: The dogs are really what the wolf is seeing is prey, 46 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 1: not the person. Wolves can sometimes pray on livestock, but 47 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 1: they prefer wild animals like deer and elk, and the 48 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: very large majority of livestock deaths in these parts of 49 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: the world are not predator related. But none of that 50 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: was true in early modern Europe. Wolf attacks on livestock 51 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: and on people, especially children, were a much bigger issue. 52 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 1: We talked about this a little bit in our episode 53 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: on the Beast of Jevaudant, which was about a series 54 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: of animal attacks in eighteenth century France, and we ran 55 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: that as a Saturday Classic in October of twenty nineteen. 56 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 2: There is some speculation about why wolves seem to have 57 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 2: been a bigger threat to humans during the early modern period, 58 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 2: even when they didn't have rabies or some kind of 59 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 2: other disease affecting their behavior. One the period of regional 60 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 2: cooling known as the Little Ice Age, which was well 61 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 2: underway by the start of the sixteenth century. This led 62 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 2: to longer winters and cooler temperatures than some parts of 63 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 2: the world, including parts of Europe, so wolves usual food 64 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 2: sources might have been more scarce, leading them to feed 65 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:22,799 Speaker 2: on more livestock, which put them into closer contact with humans. 66 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 2: Another possibility is warfare, with wolves scavenging bodies from battlefields. 67 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 2: This isn't about developing a so called taste for human flesh, 68 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:37,720 Speaker 2: but about wolves becoming more habituated to people and human environments. 69 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,280 Speaker 2: In today's world, at least in North America, we see 70 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 2: this kind of habituation more with bears, when people either 71 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,160 Speaker 2: feed bears on purpose or don't take steps to keep 72 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 2: their food in garbage away from bears, but it is 73 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 2: the same basic idea, wolves starting to see humans as 74 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 2: potential food sources rather than as something to stay away from, 75 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:00,919 Speaker 2: eventually leading. 76 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: To confrontations between the two. In a world where wolf 77 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: attacks were more common, people were also more focused on 78 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: them and worried about them, which probably led to a 79 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,040 Speaker 1: perception that they were even more frequent than they really were. 80 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 2: Like I said at the top of the show, there 81 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 2: are stories of people turning into or being turned into, 82 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 2: various animals, including wolves, all across legends and folklore all 83 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 2: around the world. Other ideas that were related to that, 84 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 2: but a little more disconnected, are things like Germanic and 85 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 2: Norse peoples wearing wolf skins in battle, with the idea 86 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 2: that they would bestow a wolf like ferocity on them. 87 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 2: In medieval Europe, those kinds of ideas combined with the 88 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 2: fear of wolves and wolf attacks, and all of that 89 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 2: coalesced into the idea of the werewolf. 90 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,159 Speaker 1: A werewolf was not just a person who could transform 91 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: into a wolf, but someone who became a wolf and 92 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 1: then did monstrous things. Sometimes these monstrous deeds were carried 93 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,839 Speaker 1: out only when they were transformed, but it could be 94 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: all of the time, regardless of whether they were in 95 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 1: the shape of a wolf or a human. If a 96 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: community started experiencing a lot of livestock deaths or animal attacks, 97 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: people might blame a werewolf for them, not just a 98 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: regular wolf. Where wolves were associated not just with gruesome 99 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: attacks on people and animals, but also with other crimes 100 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: like rape and cannibalism and with sins like gluttony and lust, 101 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: and wolves were also connected to the idea of witchcraft. 102 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:42,280 Speaker 1: There were stories about witches enchanting wolves so that they 103 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: could ride them or use them as beasts of burden, 104 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: and stories about witches transforming themselves or other witches into 105 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,920 Speaker 1: wolves for that same reason, But that kind of transformation 106 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: wasn't quite the same thing as being a werewolf. A 107 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,919 Speaker 1: witch was someone who was believed to be magic to 108 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: harm people, and similarly, a were wolf was someone who 109 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: was believed to be transforming into a wolf in order 110 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: to do harm. So witches only became were wolves if 111 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,360 Speaker 1: they were hurting people while they were transformed, not if 112 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: they were just kind of running around in wolf form 113 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,119 Speaker 1: or carrying other witches on their backs. Most of the time, 114 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 1: people who were accused of witchcraft were women, but people 115 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: who were accused of lycanthropy or lycanthropy and witchcraft together 116 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: were more likely to be men. One notable exception is 117 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,440 Speaker 1: the she wolves of Yulish, who were described in a 118 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: broadsheet by George Cress of Augsburg. This broadsheet said there 119 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: were three hundred female were wolves in what is now 120 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: northwestern Germany who terrorized and slaughtered men and boys until 121 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: eighty five of them were captured and burned at the 122 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: stake on May sixth, fifteen ninety one. No records of 123 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: this trial have been unearthed, and there are no individuals 124 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: women named in the broadsheet, so it is possible this 125 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: was fictionalized or heavily embellished based on a smaller incident. 126 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: We're going to return to the idea of sensationalized broadsheets later. 127 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 2: Generally speaking, while there were people who criticized these ideas 128 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 2: and dismissed witchcraft as superstition or nonsense, a lot of 129 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 2: people in this time and place did believe that witches 130 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,600 Speaker 2: and witchcraft were real. There were manuals about how to 131 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 2: identify witches and extract their confessions and execute them, and 132 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 2: they took for granted that witchcraft was a real phenomenon. 133 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 2: But there was more debate about where wolves. One idea 134 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:45,439 Speaker 2: was that witches really were doing nefarious magic, but where 135 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 2: wolves were a delusion brought on either by the witch 136 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 2: or by the devil. So a person was deluded into 137 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 2: believing that he could turn into a wolf, or the 138 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 2: people of a community were deluded into believing that there 139 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:03,840 Speaker 2: was a where in their midst. Other accounts treated like 140 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 2: anthropy as a real phenomenon, and there were some common 141 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 2: themes among them. Often a magical item caused the transformation, 142 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 2: usually either a belt or a girdle or an ungwent. 143 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 2: A few accounts described the skin of a wolf being 144 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 2: used for this purpose. Most of the time, whatever it 145 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 2: was came from a man in black, or from a demon, 146 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 2: or even the devil himself, who gave someone the object 147 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,080 Speaker 2: or the knowledge of how to make it. Sometimes this 148 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 2: was a gift or something that was part of a bargain, 149 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 2: and sometimes it was a curse. Or sometimes the person 150 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,200 Speaker 2: thought it was going to help them, but then it 151 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:46,080 Speaker 2: turned out to be more of a curse. These intersecting 152 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 2: ideas of witchcraft and lycanthropy led to werewolf trials that 153 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:53,560 Speaker 2: were very similar to the witch trials that were happening 154 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 2: at the same time in the same regions of the world, 155 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 2: and they're sometimes framed as where wolf witch trials. For example, 156 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 2: in Bethson, France, in fifteen twenty one, shepherds Pierre Bougat 157 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 2: and Michel Verdon claimed to have made a pact with 158 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,200 Speaker 2: demons for food and money and protection for their flocks. 159 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 2: In exchange, they said they were given an ointment that 160 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 2: would turn them into wolves and were made to hunt 161 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 2: and eat children. They were both convicted and burned at 162 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 2: the stake. Gilles Garnier, who we covered on the show before, 163 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 2: was found guilty of both like anthropy and witchcraft in 164 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:34,959 Speaker 2: fifteen seventy three after a series of killings in dul France, 165 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:39,000 Speaker 2: and they were similarly burned to death. Aenri Bougett, who 166 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 2: was Grand Judge of the Saint Claud region of franche 167 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 2: Comte in what's now eastern France, carried out a whole 168 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 2: series of trials for witchcraft and like aanthropy in the 169 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 2: fifteen nineties, and he sentenced the convicted were wolves to 170 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 2: being burned alive. 171 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:58,480 Speaker 1: Peter Stump's conviction for lycanthropy took place in what is 172 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:01,480 Speaker 1: now Germany in fifteen eight and we're going to get 173 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:03,800 Speaker 1: into that after we pause for a sponsor break. 174 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:18,320 Speaker 2: We don't really know much about Peter Stump, since various 175 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 2: sixteenth century accounts of him do exist, but they really 176 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 2: don't go beyond the werewolf stuff. There's no birth record 177 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:29,080 Speaker 2: for him or records of life outside of this context. 178 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 2: There are also a lot of different spellings of his name, 179 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,320 Speaker 2: which isn't really unusual for the time, especially considering that 180 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 2: some of these documents only survive as translations. In the 181 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,000 Speaker 2: words of Montague Summers in his nineteen thirty three book 182 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:48,600 Speaker 2: The Werewolf Quote, one of the most famous of all 183 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 2: German werewolf trials was that of Peter Stump or Stump Stube, 184 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 2: Stubb a Stub, as the name is indifferently spelled, and 185 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 2: there are other variants, who was executed for his horrible 186 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:05,200 Speaker 2: crimes at Bedburg near Cologne on thirty first March fifteen ninety. 187 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: Uh. I don't know where. 188 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,440 Speaker 2: Montagu Summers got that date of March thirty first, fifteen ninety. 189 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 2: Most other sources say this was in October of fifteen 190 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 2: eighty nine. Some of them specifically say October thirty first, 191 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 2: fifteen eighty nine, and that includes something that Summer's reprints 192 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 2: in his book immediately after saying that it was in March. 193 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 2: Some version of Stump may or may not have even 194 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:36,000 Speaker 2: been this man's actual surname. A broadsheet that was published 195 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 2: in Nuremberg in fifteen eighty nine does not name the perpetrator, 196 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:44,320 Speaker 2: but is clearly about this story. It describes a farmer 197 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 2: who had a belt that let him turn into a wolf. 198 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:50,959 Speaker 2: He attacked another farmer while in wolf form, and that 199 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 2: farmer fought back, cutting off the wolf's paw. The wolf fled, 200 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 2: and when the. 201 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,240 Speaker 1: Farmer told a neighbor about what had happened, he pulled 202 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:02,440 Speaker 1: out the paw evidence he was telling the truth. But 203 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,320 Speaker 1: the paw had transformed into a human hand. When the 204 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: werewolf was apprehended in his human form, his missing hand 205 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:14,199 Speaker 1: became part of the evidence against him. Various sources draw 206 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:17,480 Speaker 1: a connection between the missing hand and the name Stump, 207 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:20,840 Speaker 1: but some accounts of this don't mention a missing hand 208 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: at all. Today, the longest and most detailed contemporary account 209 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 1: of this is a true discourse declaring the damnable life 210 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:34,880 Speaker 1: and death of one stubiped, a most wicked sorcerer who, 211 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,359 Speaker 1: in the likeness of a wolf, committed many murders, continuing 212 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:42,480 Speaker 1: this devilish practice twenty five years, killing and devouring men, 213 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: women and children, who for the same fact was taken 214 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: and executed the thirty first of October last past in 215 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:53,320 Speaker 1: the town of Bedburn, near the city of Colin in Germany. 216 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 1: This document was translated from High Dutch meaning German and 217 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: printed in fifteen ninety, and there are no known copies 218 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: of the original German text today. It's the same one 219 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: that Montague Summers reprinted in its entirety in his Werewolf book. 220 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:13,160 Speaker 1: We are going to tell Peter's story as it was 221 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,200 Speaker 1: described in this text and point out some moments where 222 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 1: other accounts have different details. The pamphlet describes Stoba Peter 223 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: as growing up around Bedburg, which is west of Cologne. 224 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: From his youth he was quote greatly inclined to evil 225 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:31,880 Speaker 1: and the practicing of wicked arts, even from twelve years 226 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 1: of age till twenty, and so forwards till his dying day. 227 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 1: Peter wanted magic, necromancy, and sorcery, so he acquainted himself 228 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: with quote many infernal spirits and fiends, insomuch that forgetting 229 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,560 Speaker 1: the God that made him and that Savior that shed 230 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: his blood for man's redemption. In the end, careless of salvation, 231 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: gave both soul and body to the devil forever for 232 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 1: small carnal pleasure in this life, that he might be 233 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 1: famous and spoken of on earth, though he lost heaven. 234 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 1: Thereby the devil. 235 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 2: Had a ready ear for quote, the lewd motions of 236 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 2: cursed men. So the devil promised to give Peter whatever 237 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:17,120 Speaker 2: his heart desired during his mortal life. Peter desired neither 238 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:21,400 Speaker 2: riches nor external outward pleasure, but quote, having a tyrannous 239 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 2: heart in a most cruel, bloody mind. He only requested that, 240 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 2: at his pleasure he might work his malice on men, women, 241 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 2: and children in the shape of some beast, whereby he 242 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 2: might hew, without dread or danger of life, an unknown 243 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 2: to be the executor of any bloody enterprise which he 244 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 2: meant to commit. The devil saw Peter as quote a 245 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 2: fit instrument to perform mischief, as a wicked fiend pleased 246 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 2: with the desire of wrong and destruction. So the devil 247 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 2: gave Peter a girdle that would turn him into quote 248 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:59,040 Speaker 2: a greedy, devouring wolf, strong and mighty, with eyes great 249 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 2: and large, which in the night sparkled like unto brands 250 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,920 Speaker 2: of fire, a mouth great and wide with most sharp 251 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 2: and cruel teeth, a huge body, and mighty pause. When 252 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 2: Peter removed the girdle, he would go back to his 253 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 2: human form, as though nothing had happened. This account describes 254 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 2: Peter as very happy about this development. Since he was 255 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 2: already inclined to blood and cruelty, he quote proceeded to 256 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:30,680 Speaker 2: the execution of sundry most heinous and vile murders, for 257 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 2: if any person displeased him, he would incontinent thirst for revenge, 258 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:38,280 Speaker 2: and no sooner should they or any of theirs walk 259 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:41,400 Speaker 2: abroad in the fields or about the city, but in 260 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 2: the shape of a wolf, he would presently encounter them 261 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 2: and never rest until he had plucked out their throats 262 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 2: and tear their joints. Asunder, Peter had already been prone 263 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 2: to cruelty and violence, and being given this girdle fed 264 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 2: those tendencies, so over time he died a real lust 265 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,920 Speaker 2: for blood. He would also put on a quote comely 266 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:07,679 Speaker 2: habit and walk through the towns where the friends and 267 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 2: relatives of his victims lived. He would observe them and 268 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:14,560 Speaker 2: also pick out people who appealed to him so he 269 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 2: could stalk and murder them. Later, this included finding attractive 270 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,880 Speaker 2: women who he would rape before killing them. This account 271 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 2: of Peter's life as a werewolf is truly horrifying. Quote, 272 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 2: thus continuing his devilish and damnable deeds within the compass 273 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,840 Speaker 2: of a few years he had murdered thirteen young children and 274 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:41,080 Speaker 2: two goodly young women, big with child, tearing the children 275 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:44,320 Speaker 2: out of their wombs in most bloody and savage sort, 276 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:48,880 Speaker 2: and after eat their hearts, panting hot and raw, which 277 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:53,760 Speaker 2: he accounted dainty morsels and best agreeing to his appetite. Moreover, 278 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 2: he used many times to kill lambs and kids and 279 00:17:57,119 --> 00:18:01,040 Speaker 2: such like beasts, feeding on the same, most usually raw 280 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 2: and bloody, as if he had been a natural wolf, indeed, 281 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 2: so that all men mistrusted nothing less than his devilish sorcery. 282 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,679 Speaker 1: Peter also committed incest with his daughter, Beale, who he 283 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:18,560 Speaker 1: fathered when he was quote not altogether so wickedly given 284 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 1: she was thought of as beautiful and graceful, and commended 285 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: by all who knew her. Beale had a child as 286 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:30,359 Speaker 1: a result of this assault. Peter also committed incest with 287 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 1: his sister, and he had a relationship with a woman 288 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:37,840 Speaker 1: named Katherine Trumpon, who was described as his gossip. At 289 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: the time, the word gossip had several meanings that it 290 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:46,480 Speaker 1: does not today, including godparent, godchild, and chummy friend, and 291 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:51,719 Speaker 1: one broadsheet describes Katherine as Peter's godmother. Katherine Trumpin is 292 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,880 Speaker 1: described as quote a woman of tall and comely stature, 293 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: of exceeding good favor, and one that was well esteemed 294 00:18:58,119 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: among her neighbors. And for seven years Peter also kept 295 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:06,159 Speaker 1: company with a quote she devil, a wicked spirit in 296 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,080 Speaker 1: the form of a beautiful woman, sent by the devil, 297 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 1: who knew that Peter would not be able to resist her. 298 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:19,160 Speaker 2: Multiple sixteenth century documents describe Peter Stump by various spellings, 299 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,879 Speaker 2: as living as a werewolf for about twenty five years, 300 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,480 Speaker 2: during which time he killed sixteen people, thirteen of them children, 301 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,880 Speaker 2: as well as various livestock. Some accounts say the adults 302 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:33,439 Speaker 2: were two women and a man, and others say they 303 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,800 Speaker 2: were two men and a woman. But when he put 304 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 2: on that comely habit and appeared around town, people were 305 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,119 Speaker 2: not suspicious of him. We'll talk about how he was 306 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:56,919 Speaker 2: eventually apprehended after a sponsor break. In addition to his 307 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:01,120 Speaker 2: daughter Bille, Peter Stump had a son. It's not clear 308 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 2: who the son's mother was from the accounts that I read, 309 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:07,439 Speaker 2: but Peter is described as calling this boy quote his 310 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 2: heart's ease. Peter seemed to take more delight in his 311 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 2: son than in almost anything else, but that anything else 312 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:18,960 Speaker 2: was violence, rape, and murder. One day, father and son 313 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,600 Speaker 2: were walking in the woods together and the son went 314 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:25,200 Speaker 2: ahead to answer the call of nature. While he was gone, 315 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 2: Peter turned into a wolf, and then he encountered his 316 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:31,600 Speaker 2: son again. While he was still in wolf form, Peter 317 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 2: was insensible and killed his son and ate his brain. 318 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 2: Then one day Peter was in his wolf foreman came 319 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:41,200 Speaker 2: upon some children who were playing in a meadow near 320 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 2: some cattle. Peter attacked one of the little girls, trying 321 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 2: to grab her by the neck and drag her away, 322 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 2: but she was wearing a coat with a very high 323 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:53,840 Speaker 2: stiff collar and he couldn't bite through it. She started 324 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:57,200 Speaker 2: screaming and the cattle stampeded, thinking the wolf was trying 325 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 2: to take one of their calves. The little girl is 326 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:04,359 Speaker 2: escaped and the stampeding cattle drove Peter away. This little 327 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 2: girl was related to Measter Tice Urtine, a brewer who 328 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 2: lived in London and had already gotten some letters from 329 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,960 Speaker 2: other people around Bedburg about the murders and livestock killings there. 330 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,640 Speaker 2: Family wrote to him about this attack, as well other 331 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:22,840 Speaker 2: people in London and people living elsewhere in Germany. Had 332 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,439 Speaker 2: also heard about the deaths of people in livestock around 333 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:30,680 Speaker 2: Bedburg and about various unsuccessful efforts to try to catch 334 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 2: the culprit keep everyone safe. This included people raising mastiffs 335 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 2: and other large dogs to try to protect themselves. The 336 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,440 Speaker 2: assault on the children who were out with the cattle 337 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 2: led to a bigger hunt for the culprit. A true 338 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,119 Speaker 2: discourse declaring the damnable life and death of one Stoob 339 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,320 Speaker 2: of Peter presents the turning point in this search as 340 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 2: the moment that God allowed some hunters to see Peter 341 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:00,200 Speaker 2: in the act of removing his girdle and changing from 342 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:04,000 Speaker 2: a wolf to a nicely dressed man carrying a walking 343 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 2: stick as he made his way to town. The hunters 344 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:09,159 Speaker 2: walked home with him to make sure he was a 345 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:13,639 Speaker 2: real person and not a delusion or some other fantastical occurrence, 346 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 2: and once they were sure that Peter was real, they 347 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 2: captured him and took him before the magistrates. Peter was 348 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 2: put to the rack that's the torture device that slowly 349 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,639 Speaker 2: pulled a person by their wrists and ankles until their 350 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:27,760 Speaker 2: joints dislocated. 351 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: Some accounts make. 352 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,320 Speaker 2: It sound like he confessed under torture but a true 353 00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 2: discourse declaring the damnable life and death of one step 354 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:41,400 Speaker 2: but Peter describes him as fearing torture and voluntarily confessing 355 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:44,639 Speaker 2: his whole life, including all the murders, and getting the 356 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 2: werewolf girdle from the devil seemingly before actually being tortured. 357 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 2: Peter was condemned to death for these crimes. His daughter Belle, 358 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 2: who you'll recall was a victim of incest, and his gossip, 359 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:01,720 Speaker 2: Catherine Trompkin, were both found to be accessories to the murders. 360 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 2: Judgment was pronounced on all three of them on October 361 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:09,480 Speaker 2: twenty eighth, fifteen eighty nine. In the words of the 362 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:14,640 Speaker 2: True Discourse quote Stuba, Peter, as principal malefactor, was judged 363 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,440 Speaker 2: first to have his body laid on a wheel and 364 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:21,359 Speaker 2: with red hot burning pincers in ten several places, to 365 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:24,919 Speaker 2: have the flesh pulled off from the bones. After that, 366 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:27,840 Speaker 2: his legs and arms to be broken with a wooden 367 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,920 Speaker 2: axe or hatchet. Afterward, to have his head struck from 368 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:36,639 Speaker 2: his body, then to have his carcass burned to ashes. Also, 369 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 2: his daughter and his gossip were judged to be burned 370 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,479 Speaker 2: quick to ashes the same time, and day with the 371 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 2: carcass of the aforesaid Stuba Peter. And on the thirty 372 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,960 Speaker 2: first of the same month they suffered death accordingly in 373 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,560 Speaker 2: the town of Bedburg, in the presence of many peers 374 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 2: and princes of Germany. Afterward, a tall pole was erected 375 00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:58,879 Speaker 2: in the town of Bedburg with the wheel Peter had 376 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:03,080 Speaker 2: been broken on, mounted horizontally at the top. On top 377 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:05,320 Speaker 2: of the wheel was a wooden likeness of a wolf, 378 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 2: and above that was Peter Stuff's head. Sixteen pieces of 379 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 2: wood were hung around the edges of the wheel for 380 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:16,680 Speaker 2: the sixteen people that he had confessed to Killing's kind 381 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,960 Speaker 2: of monument was, of course, partly a warning to other werewolves, 382 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,359 Speaker 2: and the True Discourse described itself as quote a warning 383 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:27,240 Speaker 2: to all sorcerers and witches which unlawfully follow their own 384 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,880 Speaker 2: devilish imagination to the utter mind and destruction of their 385 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:36,399 Speaker 2: souls eternally, from which wicked and damnable practice. Elsewhere, this 386 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 2: document says it is quote published for example's sake, and 387 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:45,160 Speaker 2: lastly to censure thereof, as reason and wisdom doth think convenient, 388 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 2: considering the subtlety that Satan useth to work the soul's destruction. 389 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:55,640 Speaker 2: Four people witnessed to the document as true. Those were Tysartine, 390 00:24:55,880 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 2: William Brewer, Adolph State, and George Bories Quote, with diverse 391 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:05,639 Speaker 2: others that have seen the same. Multiple broadsheets and pamphlets 392 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:09,359 Speaker 2: relating this story and illustrated with woodcuts were printed in 393 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:13,240 Speaker 2: Germany in fifteen eighty nine and fifteen ninety. A lot 394 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,359 Speaker 2: of them share the same basic details about a werewolf 395 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 2: near Bedburg who killed sixteen people and committed incest with 396 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,800 Speaker 2: his daughter, and whose execution involved a wheel, hot pincers 397 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 2: and beheading. Some of the broadsheets used the same woodcut 398 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:32,639 Speaker 2: illustration which focused mainly on the execution, including Peter Beeale 399 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 2: and Catherine being burned at the stake, and showing the 400 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,479 Speaker 2: pole topped with the wheel a model of a wolf 401 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:42,040 Speaker 2: in Peter's head. In addition to being published around Germany, 402 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,680 Speaker 2: these were translated into other languages and printed in other 403 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:49,040 Speaker 2: parts of Europe, including the English translation of the True 404 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:53,240 Speaker 2: Discourse that we have been reading from. These pamphlets and 405 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 2: woodcuts were connected to the witchcraft and lyke aanthropy trials 406 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:01,520 Speaker 2: that were happening across Eureupe. More broadly, Johannes Gutenberg had 407 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,160 Speaker 2: developed his movable type printing press and what's now Germany 408 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,239 Speaker 2: in the mid fifteenth century. While this was not the 409 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:11,679 Speaker 2: world's first printing press or the world's first use of 410 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 2: movable type, it had a dramatic impact on print culture 411 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:20,960 Speaker 2: in Europe. It became so much easier to print and 412 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:25,920 Speaker 2: distribute broadsheets and woodcuts like these. Since these works were 413 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,720 Speaker 2: made to be sold, they were often heavily sensationalized, and 414 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:34,679 Speaker 2: they leaned into people's fears. They also incorporated moralistic themes, 415 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 2: like associating were wolves with carnality and lust. The she 416 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 2: Wolves of Yulish broadsheet that we talked about earlier framed 417 00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 2: the she wolves as bad mothers and by extension, as 418 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,720 Speaker 2: bad women, since one of them had a son who 419 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:51,879 Speaker 2: was able to find and use her werewolf belt, and 420 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,840 Speaker 2: she left him alone while she ran around in wolf form. 421 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 2: In addition to the broadsheets about Stupid Peter by many 422 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:03,399 Speaker 2: similar names, and other purported werewolves and witches, there were 423 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:07,400 Speaker 2: also books and broadsheets about how to identify and hunt them. 424 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:11,080 Speaker 2: These all fed into each other, with reports of witches 425 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:15,879 Speaker 2: and werewolves leading to new broadsheets describing gruesome crimes and 426 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:21,640 Speaker 2: grizzly executions, and those broadsheets and other print materials circling 427 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:26,160 Speaker 2: back to reinforce the idea that witchcraft and lycanthropy were 428 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:31,360 Speaker 2: ongoing threats. Broadsheets also reinforced the idea of what witches 429 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 2: and werewolves looked like and what kinds of crimes they committed, 430 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,440 Speaker 2: and how they could be identified and how they could 431 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:40,760 Speaker 2: be executed to make sure that they would not be 432 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:45,880 Speaker 2: supernaturally returned to life. The story of Peter Stumf appeared 433 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 2: in other contexts as well. For example, Richard Rowlands also 434 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:54,479 Speaker 2: known as Richard Verstigan, published an etymological dictionary called A 435 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 2: Restitution of Decayed Intelligence in sixteen oh five. Here's it's 436 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:03,639 Speaker 2: defaults of the word werewolf quote. The were wolves are 437 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 2: certain sorcerers who, having anointed their bodies with an ointment 438 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:10,919 Speaker 2: which they make by the instinct of the devil, and 439 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,760 Speaker 2: putting on a certain enchanted girdle, do not only, unto 440 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 2: the view of others, seem as wolves, but to their 441 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,640 Speaker 2: own thinking, have both the shape and nature of wolves, 442 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 2: so long as they wear the said girdle. And they 443 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:28,160 Speaker 2: do dispose themselves as very wolves in worrying and killing, 444 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:32,120 Speaker 2: and most of human creatures of such sundry have been 445 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 2: taken and executed in sundry parts of Germany and the Netherlands. 446 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:39,240 Speaker 2: One Peter Stump, for being a werewolf and having killed 447 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:42,920 Speaker 2: thirteen children, two women and one man, was it Bedburg, 448 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 2: not far from Cullen, in the year fifteen eighty nine, 449 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:49,960 Speaker 2: put unto a very terrible death. The flesh of diverse 450 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 2: parts of his body was pulled out with hot iron tongs, 451 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 2: his arms, thighs and legs broke on a wheel, and 452 00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 2: his body lastly burnt. He died with very god great remorse, 453 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 2: desiring that his body might not be spared from any 454 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:07,720 Speaker 2: torment so his soul might be saved. The werewolf, so 455 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 2: called in Germany, is in France called Lupegaru. For centuries 456 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:14,720 Speaker 2: after this, Peter Stump was one of the go to 457 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 2: illustrations for what it meant to be a were wolf. 458 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,200 Speaker 2: Because I was looking for stuff on him, I found 459 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:26,080 Speaker 2: so many Like into the sixteen hundred, seventeen hundreds, eighteen hundreds, 460 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:28,120 Speaker 2: anytime there was mention of a werewolf, it was like, yeah, 461 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:32,920 Speaker 2: like Peter Stump That's a great example. Because these broadsheets 462 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,480 Speaker 2: and other works tended to be very heavily sensationalized, and 463 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 2: the people creating them often copied from one another, it's 464 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:42,479 Speaker 2: hard to know what was really going on in and 465 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 2: around Bedburg in the late sixteenth century. Peter Stump confessed 466 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:50,440 Speaker 2: to murders and to incest, but he also did so 467 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:53,680 Speaker 2: either under torture or under the threat of torture, and 468 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 2: he did also confess to being able to turn into 469 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:59,320 Speaker 2: a wolf, so it's hard to take that confession just 470 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:03,040 Speaker 2: at face value. It is possible that he really was 471 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:07,040 Speaker 2: a serial killer who did murder numerous people, including children. 472 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:10,720 Speaker 2: It's also possible that the real culprit was someone else, 473 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:14,240 Speaker 2: or that at least some of those killings were really 474 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:17,440 Speaker 2: wolf attacks, or that the number of deaths was a 475 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 2: lot smaller than what was described in these broadsheets and pamphlets. 476 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 2: We mentioned earlier that wolf attacks could be connected to warfare. 477 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:31,520 Speaker 2: The purported were wolf activities around Bedburg partially coincided with 478 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 2: the Cologne War of fifteen eighty three to fifteen eighty eight, 479 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:39,040 Speaker 2: which was connected to the Reformation and counter Reformation, and 480 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:43,000 Speaker 2: to wider conflicts in Europe. Back in fifteen fifty five, 481 00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 2: the Peace of Augsburg had been negotiated to try to 482 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:50,440 Speaker 2: end conflict between Catholics and Lutherans in the Holy Roman Empire, 483 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,200 Speaker 2: which covered a lot of what is now Germany and 484 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,680 Speaker 2: adjacent areas. One provision of this agreement was that any 485 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:02,000 Speaker 2: ecclesiastical prince who converted to Protestantism had to give up 486 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,720 Speaker 2: his lands and his office. In fifteen eighty two, the 487 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:10,120 Speaker 2: Archbishop Elector of Cologne converted to Calvinism and refused to 488 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:14,240 Speaker 2: surrender his land and title. In addition to violating the 489 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,760 Speaker 2: Peace of Augsburg, this threatened to give Protestants a majority 490 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,520 Speaker 2: in the College of Electors. So this was seen as 491 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:23,880 Speaker 2: a major issue, and it led to five years of fighting, 492 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:27,880 Speaker 2: with cities and towns besieged and plundered until the conflict 493 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:30,000 Speaker 2: finally ended in a Catholic victory. 494 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:33,959 Speaker 1: This fighting would have caused the kinds of conditions that 495 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,320 Speaker 1: were connected to spikes in wolf attacks, as well as 496 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:41,280 Speaker 1: the uncertainty, unrest, and fear that were connected to reports 497 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 1: of witchcraft and lycanthropy. The witch trials of the early 498 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:50,160 Speaker 1: modern period were of course also interconnected with religion. The 499 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:53,360 Speaker 1: same printing technology that was being used to produce all 500 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:57,400 Speaker 1: these broadsheets about witches and werewolves was also being used 501 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:02,280 Speaker 1: to print religious materials. The flourishing print culture of the 502 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:05,400 Speaker 1: era was a critical part of the Reformation and the 503 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:10,280 Speaker 1: Counter Reformation and all the upheaval that were associated with them, 504 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:13,680 Speaker 1: and that upheaval was again part of what fed into 505 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:18,200 Speaker 1: these witch and werewolf panics. The resulting witch and werewolf 506 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 1: hunts also had explicitly religious underpinnings beyond the idea that 507 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:28,120 Speaker 1: the devil was involved. As examples, Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General, 508 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:32,280 Speaker 1: was the son of a Puritan clergyman, while Malleus Maleficarum 509 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:35,240 Speaker 1: or Hammer of Witches was one of the era's best 510 00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 1: known treatises on witchcraft, and it was written by Catholic 511 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:44,160 Speaker 1: clergymen who had been inquisitors the inquisitions investigations into heresy 512 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:49,440 Speaker 1: and blasphemy also included investigations into alleged witchcraft. 513 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, there was a lot going on. Like we haven't 514 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 2: even mentioned the second plague pandemic which was also happening 515 00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:59,440 Speaker 2: at the same time, also causing a lot of chaos 516 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:02,840 Speaker 2: and death and uncertainty. Long story short, this is a 517 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:06,160 Speaker 2: really gruesome story, but also a really gruesome story that 518 00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:09,800 Speaker 2: was part of a century's long moral panic that played 519 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:15,200 Speaker 2: out alongside these multiple intense social and cultural and religious 520 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:20,080 Speaker 2: changes in strife. That's the Werewolf story for today. Do 521 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 2: you have listener mail to go with it? I do. 522 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:25,400 Speaker 2: I have listener mail that is from Noel. They wrote 523 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:28,600 Speaker 2: and said, Dear Holly and Tracy. In your recent awesome 524 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:32,320 Speaker 2: Eponymous Diseases episode, you read a listener mail asking for 525 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:34,479 Speaker 2: research tips in the Age of AI and had an 526 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:38,880 Speaker 2: extended discussion about finding reputable sources. I know y'all love libraries, 527 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,040 Speaker 2: so I just wanted to note that, depending on where 528 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 2: a person lives, they may be able to access peer 529 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:47,680 Speaker 2: reviewed articles through their local library. Libraries in some major cities, 530 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:51,160 Speaker 2: including New York City and Boston, offer access to databases 531 00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:53,760 Speaker 2: like jastore. I know not everyone is going to want 532 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,080 Speaker 2: to read or be able to easily read something out 533 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:58,680 Speaker 2: of a medical journal, but research on history, for example, 534 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,880 Speaker 2: was a bit more accessible, and obviously print books and 535 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:05,600 Speaker 2: libraries are safe from LMS for now. I look forward 536 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:07,960 Speaker 2: to your show every week for pet tax I have 537 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,000 Speaker 2: attached to a photo of my seven year old golden doodle 538 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:14,440 Speaker 2: Tater Tot who still acts like a baby, and my 539 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,959 Speaker 2: five year old cats, Mira long hair and Jojin short hair. 540 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:21,280 Speaker 2: The former is our homes resident monarch, while the latter 541 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:25,760 Speaker 2: is a gremlin, but a cuddly one. Warmly Noel, Thank you, Noel. 542 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:27,280 Speaker 2: These are some cute pictures. 543 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:27,920 Speaker 1: Baby. 544 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:30,680 Speaker 2: We have a dog in a vest sitting on a beach, 545 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:35,319 Speaker 2: looking happy well, curly hair and dog. Three animals, two 546 00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:38,080 Speaker 2: cats and a dog taking up the entirety of a bed. 547 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:42,040 Speaker 2: We have a kitty cat sitting in the bathtub. That 548 00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:44,640 Speaker 2: happens at our house, not as much anymore. Our cats 549 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:47,719 Speaker 2: used to like to play around the shower curtain and 550 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:49,480 Speaker 2: kind of duck back and forth out of there and 551 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,520 Speaker 2: pounce on each other. And a kitty cat in a basket. 552 00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:56,200 Speaker 2: Thank you Noel for these adorable pictures. Yeah, so, the 553 00:34:56,440 --> 00:35:00,200 Speaker 2: answer for information about finding reputable sources was kind of 554 00:35:00,239 --> 00:35:03,879 Speaker 2: in the context of like, you're on the Internet. You're 555 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:07,879 Speaker 2: surrounded by things like TikTok and YouTube videos and Wikipedia 556 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:11,200 Speaker 2: and chat GBT, like, how do you find reputable information? 557 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:18,920 Speaker 2: A question about more formal academic research would have totally 558 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:24,480 Speaker 2: different answers. Boston Public Library does have jastore access. Anyone 559 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:29,080 Speaker 2: in Massachusetts can get a Boston Public Library Digital Library card. 560 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:32,920 Speaker 2: I don't actually use Boston Public Library for Jaystore because 561 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:37,120 Speaker 2: I have jastore access through other means. But yeah, even 562 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:41,480 Speaker 2: if the library doesn't have jastore specifically, most of the 563 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:44,360 Speaker 2: public libraries that I have been part of do have 564 00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:49,880 Speaker 2: some EBSCO and Gale databases that have access to some 565 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:52,080 Speaker 2: other peer reviewed journals, and I feel like that is 566 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:55,920 Speaker 2: the most useful when somebody is doing like a formal 567 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:59,480 Speaker 2: research project, like a school project, or if you are 568 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:01,759 Speaker 2: writing a novel and you want to make sure that 569 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:05,240 Speaker 2: your novel is historically accurate, that kind of peer reviewed 570 00:36:05,239 --> 00:36:08,440 Speaker 2: stuff might be good for informing that. It's not so 571 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 2: much what I would recommend if like you're just trying 572 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:14,680 Speaker 2: to get quick answers to something on the internet, which 573 00:36:14,719 --> 00:36:17,759 Speaker 2: is sort of how I interpreted the original question that 574 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:22,040 Speaker 2: we were responding to. And I also, at this point 575 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:29,600 Speaker 2: in my life, I don't actually advocate most people trying 576 00:36:29,719 --> 00:36:36,880 Speaker 2: to read the journal articles about things like vaccine research 577 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:41,319 Speaker 2: and medical developments and stuff like that, because a lot 578 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:47,480 Speaker 2: of those papers really do need background information and expertise 579 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:52,600 Speaker 2: to really understand and make sense of and at this point, 580 00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:57,839 Speaker 2: I've seen so many blog posts and news articles and 581 00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:06,080 Speaker 2: whatnot where folks have really misinterpreted things that are normal 582 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:11,239 Speaker 2: in the field of something like medical research, have like 583 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:15,960 Speaker 2: interpreted that as scary just because of not having the 584 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:21,480 Speaker 2: background information and context to interpret things and to understand 585 00:37:21,719 --> 00:37:26,000 Speaker 2: like why things in research papers and big studies and 586 00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:29,520 Speaker 2: things like that are framed in the way that they are. 587 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:31,279 Speaker 2: Every once in a while, I will see a bunch 588 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:39,279 Speaker 2: of like very scary headlines about like study fines alarming 589 00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:46,120 Speaker 2: levels of arsenic in sugar snappiece that's made up, and 590 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:48,720 Speaker 2: there will be just a whole big kind of panic 591 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:51,640 Speaker 2: in the media about the sugar snap piece, and then 592 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:54,320 Speaker 2: a couple of people who do have that background and 593 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:57,960 Speaker 2: the kind of research that the paper was reporting will 594 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,239 Speaker 2: read it and go, Okay, that that's really not with 595 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:03,879 Speaker 2: this is saying that three hundred percent increase is from 596 00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:07,799 Speaker 2: a tiny amount almost too small to be measured, to 597 00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:11,719 Speaker 2: a larger amount that is still so small that it 598 00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:14,920 Speaker 2: can almost not be measured. There's been a big like 599 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:18,120 Speaker 2: do your own research kind of vibe and a lot 600 00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:20,439 Speaker 2: of things related to healthcare, and I think a lot 601 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:24,480 Speaker 2: of that has fed into misinformation about healthcare spread by 602 00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:29,000 Speaker 2: people who just don't have the background to be able 603 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:38,560 Speaker 2: to read and understand and correctly interpret those kinds of documents. So, yeah, 604 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:41,160 Speaker 2: there are tons of resources available. Holly and I are 605 00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:43,920 Speaker 2: big advocates of going to the library. A lot of 606 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:48,040 Speaker 2: libraries still have reference librarians of some sort who can 607 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:52,960 Speaker 2: help people find accurate information. Sadly, we already do have 608 00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:57,239 Speaker 2: print books being entirely written through large language models that 609 00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:00,080 Speaker 2: are making their way into print. That does seem to 610 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:03,600 Speaker 2: be more of an issue with people ordering things off 611 00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:07,800 Speaker 2: of something like Amazon and getting something that was clearly 612 00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:11,440 Speaker 2: written by a chatbot, more so than things that have 613 00:39:11,600 --> 00:39:16,919 Speaker 2: been curated into a library collection, because typically the librarians 614 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:20,359 Speaker 2: who do that work know what to look out for. Yeah, 615 00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:26,400 Speaker 2: collection development is an entire field. Yeah, we love the library. 616 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:28,760 Speaker 2: I love the access. I think I have three different 617 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:31,640 Speaker 2: library cards. It might be four. 618 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:31,919 Speaker 1: Now. 619 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:35,360 Speaker 2: There's the library card for the library network that I 620 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:38,800 Speaker 2: live in. There's Boston Public Library because I live in Massachusetts. 621 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:42,239 Speaker 2: There's another library network for the place that I lived previously, 622 00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:44,880 Speaker 2: which is also one that, like the card number is 623 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:47,600 Speaker 2: still active, but it's still accessible to other people who 624 00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:52,520 Speaker 2: live in the area, and then membership library that I 625 00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:55,760 Speaker 2: pay for, and then the library where my husband works. 626 00:39:57,120 --> 00:40:02,680 Speaker 2: A wealth of library resources. I love library. So those 627 00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:06,400 Speaker 2: are additional tips for other kinds of research. If you 628 00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:09,520 Speaker 2: would like to write to us about this or any 629 00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:12,800 Speaker 2: other podcast, or at history podcast at iHeartRadio dot com 630 00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:17,000 Speaker 2: and you can't subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app, 631 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:24,560 Speaker 2: anywhere else you'd like to get your podcasts. Stuff you 632 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:27,719 Speaker 2: Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For 633 00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:32,239 Speaker 2: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 634 00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:35,800 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.