Werewolves have stalked the pages of folklore for centuries, almost always portrayed as dangerous beasts and servants of evil. But one unique case from 17th century Europe flipped this script, telling the story of a werewolf who claimed to battle the devil himself.
Stories of the paranormal abound throughout European folklore, many of which have captivated the public’s attention and are still having a significant impact on contemporary culture. Among these beliefs, the most persistent is the one about the werewolf—a creature that can change from a human to a wolf. This essay delves into the fascinating story of Thiess of Kaltenbrun, also known as the Livonian Werewolf, a 17th-century man who claimed to be a werewolf. This tale provides an intriguing prism through which to examine the particular elements of Thiess’s narrative and the larger background of werewolf beliefs in medieval Europe.
Werewolves in Medieval Europe
In Europe, werewolf mythology has a rich and lengthy history that dates back to antiquity. The werewolf was a feared creature in medieval Europe, representing the wild and instinctive sides of human nature. After originating in paganism and assimilating into Christian mythology, the werewolf became associated with evil and the devil.
Witchcraft was frequently associated with these lycanthropic ideas. A common accusation in the late medieval and early modern witch trials was lycanthropy, or the turning of a person into a wolf. Charms and magic spells were widely believed to have the power to will werewolf transformations. It was believed that witches could manipulate and control werewolves to carry out their orders. Like those convicted of witchcraft, people suspected of being werewolves faced persecution since they were thought to be practitioners of dark magic and in collaboration with the devil.
One should not overlook the strong socioeconomic component of the werewolf. Wolves posed a constant threat to cattle in the hard reality of medieval living, which in turn jeopardized the subsistence of peasant communities. Therefore, the werewolf represented both material and spiritual peril, representing the precariousness of life in a world full of supernatural and natural threats.
Thiess
The tale of Thiess of Kaltenbrun is a striking exception. Thiess asserted during a trial in Jürgensburg, Duchy of Livonia (now Latvia), in 1692 that he was a werewolf fighting the powers of evil in addition to being a hound of God.
Thiess was an elderly man, eighty years old. He was called to appear in court to respond to werewolf accusations. Thiess said that in order to protect the land’s fertility and the well-being of their communities, he and other werewolves traveled to Hell three times a year to fight the devil and his witches. According to his narrative, werewolves were not evil beings but rather fighters fighting the powers of evil on a cosmic scale.
Thiess said that on certain nights throughout the year, he and the other werewolves changed into wolves, either by dressing as wolves or by stripping off and changing in the underbrush. They were wolves that prowled the nearby farms, mutilating animals and eating their roasted meat. Thiess said that he was able to pass on his werewolf talents through a similar toast that he had received from a rogue. Still, he had not yet identified a replacement. In a startling turn of events, Thiess declared that they would go to Hell as werewolves and fight the Devil and his witches, calling themselves the hounds of God.
Thiess claimed that in order to ensure a bountiful harvest, they had to go to Hell to retrieve the fruits, grains, and livestock that the witches had stolen. In an apparent contradiction to his earlier statements, Thiess acknowledged that he had left his werewolf life 10 years ago, but the year before, he had gone to Hell in the guise of a werewolf in order to protect the crop. When asked what happened to werewolves’ souls after death, Thiess argued that whereas witches’ souls were sent to Hell, werewolf souls were not those of the Devil but rather of God. He insisted that their nightly sojourns into Hell were made for the good of humanity.
Others in the community defended him, saying he was religious and of sound mind, despite the fact that many doubted his sanity.
This story stood in sharp contrast to the popular wisdom at the time. Despite facing questions and torture, Thiess remained unwavering in his accusations and denied any association with the devil. Eventually, because of his heretical ideas, he was sentenced to be banished for life and flogged. His statement was impressive. Most werewolves found guilty at the time faced execution by burning at the stake.
Analysis
Today, historians disagree over whether Thiess made his allegations sincerely or if there was some staged acting involved. In any case, his tale illustrates how folk beliefs may transcend conventions, and his story has a lasting impact on the canon of werewolf lore.
The story of Thiess drastically turns the werewolf legend of the past upside down. Rather than associating werewolves with malevolent forces, Thiess presents werewolves as agents of good, warriors defending mankind against evil forces.
One could interpret this story as a form of protest against the oppressive social and religious structures of the era. Thiess was not only disproving the werewolf’s reputation as a demonic creature by declaring himself to be a “Hound of God,” but he was also contesting the Church’s exclusive power to define right and wrong.
The story also reflects the social and economic conditions of the period. A peasant population reliant on agriculture can relate to Thiess’s description of the werewolves’ struggles to preserve the land’s fertility. This makes the Livonian Werewolf a metaphor for the struggle of the peasant to survive in a hostile and unreliable world.
Conclusion
The story of Thiess of Kaltenbrun, the Livonian Werewolf, offers a fascinating glimpse into the intricate network of convictions, anxieties, and aspirations that shaped medieval Europe’s conception of the paranormal. The werewolf myth, as it is embodied in the story of Thiess, is far from being a mere artifact of superstition; rather, it is a mirror reflecting the larger social, economic, and theological dynamics of the period. Thiess’s original vision of the werewolf as a force for good calls into question how we traditionally interpret this tale and encourages us to go deeper into folklore to find its hidden implications.
References
Bartra, R. (2024). Livonia, Land of the Werewolf. In The Myth of the Werewolf (pp. 93-111). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
De Blécourt, W. (2007). A Journey to Hell: Reconsidering the Livonian” Werewolf”. Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft, 2(1), 49-67.
Donecker, S. (2012). the werewolves of livonia: lycanthropy and shape-changing in scholarly texts, 1550–1720. Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural, 1(2), 289-322.
Ginzburg, C., & Lincoln, B. (2022). Old Thiess, a Livonian werewolf: a classic case in comparative perspective. University of Chicago Press.
Jiaxin, L. (2022). Livonian Werewolves: Assessing Their Historical Significance through the Case of Old Thiess. Rev. Eur. Stud., 14, 61.
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