The Holy Greyhound: Guinefort, Healer of Children since the Thirteenth Century

ISBN-13: 9780521108805 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 228 str.

Jean-Claude Schmidtt

Opis

The legend of a dog which is unjustly killed by its master in error, after it has defended his child from attack by a snake or wolf, appears in several popular cultures of Indo-European origin. This book concentrates on one local manifestation of the legend: a cult among the peasants of the Dombes, north of Lyons, who brought their sick child to the grave of 'Saint Guinefort', the martyred greyhound, for preservation from disease. Providing a rare access to the underlying cultural traditions of Europe, all too often submerged in the survivals of literate culture, this book will be welcomed by a wide range of historians and anthropologists.