Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf

Two historians offer their analysis of the first English translation of the 1691 court testimony of a man claiming to be a werewolf working for God.

"This thought-provoking piece of scholarship offers unique insights on the methods employed by two well-known and extraordinarily learned scholars as they address the most wonderful werewolf of history. Since there has not yet been a monograph on the Thiess trial, this book fills a need, and its excellent English translation of the trial protocol has been long overdue." —Stefan Donecker, Institute for Medieval Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences

In 1691, a Livonian peasant known as Old Thiess boldly announced before a district court that he was a werewolf. Yet far from being a diabolical monster, he insisted, he was one of the "hounds of God," fierce guardians who battled sorcerers, witches, and even Satan to protect the fields, flocks, and humanity—a baffling claim that attracted the notice of the judges then and still commands attention from historians today.

In this book, eminent scholars Carlo Ginzburg and Bruce Lincoln offer a uniquely comparative look at the trial and startling testimony of Old Thiess. They present the first English translation of the trial transcript, in which the man's own voice can be heard, before turning to subsequent analyses of the event, which range from efforts to connect Old Thiess to shamanistic practices to the argument that he was reacting against cruel stereotypes of the "Livonian werewolf" a Germanic elite used to justify their rule over the Baltic peasantry. As Ginzburg and Lincoln debate their own and others' perspectives, they also reflect on broader issues of historical theory, method, and politics. Part source text of the trial, part discussion of historians' thoughts on the case, and part dialogue over the merits and perils of their different methodological approaches, Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf opens fresh insight into a remarkable historical occurrence and, through it, the very discipline of history itself.

"Ginzburg and Lincoln provide three essential services to those interested in this trial, werewolf scholarship in general, or the wider project of myth and ritual in comparative perspectives: a full translation of the trial documents, excerpts from historically significant secondary scholarship, and a conversation between the two authors on the merits and perils of different methodologies of interpretive approach. These components work together in providing a full picture of the Thiess trial, and both authors are at the top of their respective games as they delve into a conversation on how individual scholars make interpretive choices." —Phillip A. Bernhardt-House, author of Werewolves, Magical Hounds, and Dog-Headed Men in Celtic Literature