Re: Dear Vlad, was Re: a little history lesson

["S. M. Thorson" <smt2@st-andrews.ac.uk>]

Poster: "S. M. Thorson" <smt2@st-andrews.ac.uk>

On Fri, 12 Jun 1998, Heather Swann wrote:

> For a good work on vampires, check out 'Vampires of the Slavs' by
> Perkowski.  It has historical notes as well as the author's notes on his
> research among Slavic peoples on vampires and local stories.  One woman
> he talked to told him the man a few farms down was a vampire.  A vampire
> hunter he spoke to told him to 'take an iron spike and nail those
> suckers to the ground!'.  Interesting stuff.

Yes, but how much of that material is mediaeval?  My own experience is
with western Europe not eastern (although I could plug pretty hard for
renewed study of mediaeval Bulgaria, which, from the little I know about
it, is fascinating).  The western sources I've encountered emphatically do
not express belief in anything like the modern idea of a vampire.  Just
the typical reanimate corpse/ghoul/wight.  People with evidence for belief
in vampires (modern sense) from western Europe in the Middle Ages are
cordially invited to mention it.  :-)

Alianora
*****************************************************************************
Stephanie M. Thorson			|  SCA: Lady Alianora Munro
Dept. of Scottish History		|  Clan White Wing
University of St Andrews		|  Tarkhan, Khanate Red Lion

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