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What did people see when they believed a human being could turn into a wolf?
In The Book of Were-Wolves, Sabine Baring-Gould follows a frightening belief through ancient tales, northern sagas, medieval romances and court records. He asks where the werewolf comes from and why it holds its grip. Greek tradition tells of Lycaon becoming a wolf; the Volsunga Saga brings Sigmund and his son Sinfjotli to wolf skins hidden in a hut.
The search grows darker in the records of trials in France and Germany. Gilles Garnier, a hermit near Dole, is among those tried and put to death. Baring-Gould sets grim cases beside old stories, then proposes his own explanation in terms of madness and hunger. His question reaches beyond the monster: what human experience lies beneath the fear?
What you’ll discover
- Ancient roots of fear Follow the werewolf into Greek and Roman tales, where human bodies take on frightening shapes.
- Wolf skins and sagas Meet Sigmund and Sinfjotli as the northern tradition gives the wolf legend a different form.
- A monster deserving pity Discover medieval romances in which a blameless nobleman is forced to live in wolf shape.
- Stories before the judges Confront court records where belief in monsters carries terrible consequences for real people.
- The hunger beneath legend Consider Baring-Gould's proposal that a craving for blood and flesh helps explain werewolf belief.
Who will love it
For readers who love folklore, the history of fear and old court records, and for anyone curious about where monster stories come from and why they last.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A clergyman takes on the wolf
- The wolf-man begins in ancient myth
- The north gives the wolf skin
- Medieval tales make the werewolf sad
- Real trials turn the tale into terror
- Madness and hunger explain the wolf
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El libro de los hombres lobo
by S. Baring-Gould · 1865
Myths and trial records reveal how belief in people turning into wolves becomes law and punishment.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What if the beast at the edge of the forest is a neighbour you know? Sabine Baring-Gould, an English clergyman in Devon, asks just that in The Book of Were-Wolves, first published in 1865.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A clergyman takes on the wolf
Sabine Baring-Gould is a country parson with a huge appetite for old stories. He writes on saints, on medieval myths, on folk songs and on the legends of the West Country. The Book of Were-Wolves comes early in that career. It shows his habits: wide reading, a love of odd detail and a wish to explain old beliefs by reason.
The word werewolf is Old English for man-wolf. He holds that the belief is not the invention of one people, but turns up again and again in places far apart. That spread is the puzzle he sets out to solve.
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What is The Book of Were-Wolves about?
It is a study of the belief that people can turn into wolves. Baring-Gould collects myths, sagas, medieval tales and real trial records, then tries to explain the belief through folklore and mental illness.
Who wrote The Book of Were-Wolves and when?
It was written by Sabine Baring-Gould, an English clergyman and folklorist, and first published in 1865. It was an early work in a long career that covered saints, myths and folk songs.
Is The Book of Were-Wolves a true story?
It is not a novel. It is a work of non-fiction that reports old legends and also real court cases from France and Germany. The legends are folklore, but the trials were real events.
The author
Sabine Baring-Gould
1834–1924 · English novelist and folklorist
Sabine Baring-Gould (1834–1924) was an English clergyman, novelist, antiquarian and collector of folk songs. He was born in Exeter and later lived at Lewtrenchard in Devon, where he died. His writings included The Book of Were-Wolves, published in 1865, and the novel Grettir the Outlaw, published in 1890.
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