Shadow Wulf wrote:When you say facts I hope you meant as in just history of werewolves mythology.
And RedEye, could you give me the links to your source.
I don't know what Red Eye's source is but I had a quick nosey at the illustrations in one of my books (Montague Summers' "The Werewolf in Lore and Legend", 2003 edition of a 1933 book) and found the following details in the illustrative plates:
Goya's "The Warlock's Metamorphosis". The reproduction isn't good but the figure in the left foreground has a distinct tail. 19th century artist.
"A Werewolf Attacks a Man". Werewolf as a full wolf and with a definite tail (perhaps more dog-like than wolf-like).
"The Transvection of Witches". Undated woodcut. No werewolf content.
"The Wild Beast of the Gevaudan". Very long and quite solid tail. Beast looks more like a large feline than a wolf. Picture published in 1765, looks a bit like a copperplate engraving (don't think they had lithography back then).
"The Werewolves". Undated illustration from an edition of Baring-Gould's book on the subject. Two werewolves in full wolf form, both have tails although the one in the foreground is hiding most if its tail behind it.
"Les Lupins", Maurice Sand, from a book by George Sand. A group of ten or so bipedal, digitigrade wolves leaning against a wall. Due to the shadows cast it is difficult to tell whether or not they have tails, but two definitely seem to and the remainder may have.
"Le Meneu de Loups", ibid. A group of wolves in full wolf form accompanying a bagpiper. Amazingly the bagpiper is still alive.
Woodcut from "The damnable life and death of on Stubbe Peeter", 1590. The first of the eight panels shows a bipedal wolf with no tail, walking plantigrade, and a full wolf, with tail, savaging a bystander. The remaining panels all show either full wolves and hounds (with tails) or full humans (mainly villagers going all Mengele on Stubbe Peeter).
As a quick aside... I haven't read the book thoroughly, but have skimmed it and read some interesting bits... The author is firmly of the belief that werewolves are tools of the Devil and is very set in his ways about it - I can easily imagine him as being played by Christopher Lee in full-on manic mode, declaiming the text.
(Fun Trivia Fact: Best typo of this post (now fixed): "woofcut". Interesting but Irrelevant Fact: "Transvection" (i.e. the act of flying through the sky, as by a witch on a broomstick) is also the title of a fairly bloody good CD of songs by The Magick Heads).
Amoux - I think it's a (some) American thing. Mainly by people who have forgotten which country it was that supported them against the British in the first place. And it's not only you - it wasn't so long ago that someone tried to tell me that just because I was a Damned Foreigner that I therefore hated all Americans and got off on flying planes into office buildings. I posted something in "Venting" about it a while back.
Doberman - You can disagree with someone without insulting them or being rude to them. There's a world of difference between saying "I don't agree with you. I think..." and "You're wrong!" Go and have a look at the "Werewolves... Pitiful?" topic for example of civilised yet passionate debate. There's some quite heated disagreement there but (at a quick glance) I
don't see anyone abusing Vuldari for having an unpopular opinion - and I don't see him being offensive either.