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

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.

Jean-Claude Schmidtt (Author)

9780521108805, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 April 2009

228 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.3 cm, 0.34 kg

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.

Part I. The Inquisitor
Part II. The Legend and the Rite
Part III. Saint Guinefort
Part IV. Narrative Time, Historical Time
Notes
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]