Not Just the Tudors

The Trial of a Latvian Werewolf

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Episode notes

In 1691, a peasant in Livonia - on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea - announced before a startled district court that he was a werewolf. Yet far from being in league with the Devil, “Old Thiess” insisted he was one of the “hounds of God,” fierce guardians who battled sorcerers, witches, and even Satan to protect the fields and flocks. Not surprisingly, his judges struggled to make sense of the case.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to two eminent scholars, Professor Carlo Ginzburg and Professor Bruce Lincoln, whose diverging views present a uniquely comparative look at the trial and the startling testimony of Old Thiess. 

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited, mixed and produced by Rob Weinberg. 

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