I’ve been wanting to talk and blog about this topic for a while because it’s really interesting and it’s all about fact meets fiction in many ways or is it the other way around? Who Knows? In previous post and a podcast episode I discussed the Beast of Gévaudan from 1700 FRANCE . And briefly about the hysteria over witches and werewolves that dominated Europe at that time. I’m going to go a little in-depth about it in today’s post(but mostly focus about the werewolf trials) because it is somewhat connected to my work in progress novel During the Blue Hour. So let me explain . But first lets go in-depth about what the witch and werewolf trials were at that time and then I will attempt to discover and explain the actual truth that history forgets to let us know about.
What are the Witch & Werewolf Trials Across Europe and how did they begin?
Between the 15th century and the 18 century the acts of persecution was on an all-time high Over thousands , maybe millions of people were executed because of their beliefs . Also magic and supernatural believes were prevalent throughout all cultures throughout the world. People used , believed and practiced magic to heal themselves and their neighbors. To help hunting and crops every day . However what people did not understand they feared the most .
For some believed if you could use magic to heal yourself and help with hunting and for crops then you can use magic to harm a person. Thus this is what started the witchcraft trials around Europe. (So how did werewolf trials fit into this?) well heavily beginning in the 16th century the werewolf trials began . These trials would put the witch craft trials to shame. But why? you might ask . Werewolves hold no magic? Let me go deeper and further into the madness.
Many people were accused of lycanthropy, a disillusioned idea where somebody believes they are wolves . ( I will explain further what lycanthropy is in another post) But what it turned out was most of these people who were accused to be werewolves was really a deep-rooted misunderstanding and fear of mental illness. Yes most likely the people who were accused was said be found to eventually have mental illnesses or just falsely accused because of religious beliefs .
But was this really true? Were these people really insane or was it something else history is really not telling us ? Let’s delve deeper.
Let’s look at another alternative that you would not even imagine for a person to be turned into a werewolf .
Ergot poisoning.
What is Ergot poisoning. ? You might ask. Let me explain.
a syndrome brought on by the consumption of bread (notably rye) contaminated by the ergot fungus.(will be posting about this a little later) During the Middle Ages and throughout Europe between 14th and 18th centuries it was commonly known as St. Anthony’s fire ( I will go in-depth with this in a later post) but the symptoms of this poison were quite similar to the physical traits of werewolves. such as writhing and shaking, tremors, not having any control of their own fine motor function, rolling eyes, inability to speak, ferocious appetite, hallucinations, panic attacks, swelling of the skin, feeling of extreme hot or cold.
The truth was people who were being accused of being werewolves and witches were not true. And it was also not true that they were insane . It was all because the Ergot Poisoning. And many people died in the werewolf trials because of it. When they could have just as easily looked over yonder into the fields where the damn bread was growing and checked it. What kind of doctors or healers were these people at the time to not see people were just simply getting sick ? Couldn’t they have used inductive and deductive reasoning together to see it wasn’t witchery or lycanthropy. I mean it was whole villages. But eh it’s the 21 century and now we know the truth OF THE WITCH AND WEREWOLF TRIALS.
I’ll be writing another post about how this has to do with my novel.
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Did you know about ergot poisoning and the witchcraft and werewolf trials?
I want to know so let me know in the comments below.
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