An English Translation of the Nuremberg Broadsheet
Keywords: Petter Stump, Peter Stump, Peter Stumpf, Peter Stumpp, werewolves
Woodcut,
Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
Source: ArtStor (accession number: 20.033.625)
warhafftige und wunderbarlich Newe zeitung von einen pauren der sich durch Zaüberey des tags siben stund zu ainen wolff verwandelt hat, und wie es darnach gericht ist worden durch den Colnischen Nachrichter, den letzen October Jm 1589 Jar, Nuremberg: Lucas Mayer, 1589
Four miles from Cologne is a well-known village called Bedburg. There a farmer was put to death who had a satanic nature. It is terrible to listen to it. That same man had a belt; when he put it around his body he changed right away into the horrible form of a wolf. And thus ran into the forest every day, and his transformation lasted seven hours, as it was told. Now one evening a farmer walked out of the forest who became known to the wolf. The wolf began to endangered him soon by wanting to eat him,
Very soon the farmer pulled out his sword and cut off a paw from the wolf. The wolf very quickly fled. The farmer lifted up the paw, carried it home soon, the story is told. His neighbor did not want to believe it. He wanted to pull out the wolf’s paw, but it had become a human hand. The wolf came home all disturbed and became quite ill, and went to bed. After his neighbour had visited him it seemed to him he was crazy. The paw’s stump soon spoke to him, oh neighbor, know that on that day I was the great wolf during the night,
who had run towards you, and you have cut off my hand. I beg you that you do not say anything about it. I have given myself to the devil, so that I live my life with sorcery. After the neighbor came home he also told his wife about it. She too revealed it afterwards, until it was loudly spoken of. In his bed he was captured, the paw stump was demanded when one asked him about it in detail. Whereupon he told all this: I have murdered thirteen small children, among them my own son,
ate their brain and cut them up, besides that also killed three old people, was also very harmful to livestock. For twenty-five years I slept with an actual she-devil; besides that she was my god-mother; slept also my daughter. And upon this, those who were in the court put him on a wheel. At the end one gave him toe pinches; with an ax, I must say, one cut off both his feet. One cut off his head and placed him high on a wheel and put him atop a wolf.
Because he led a wolf’s life one burned the body afterwards and also his daughter at the end, and his godmother also; one burned all three, which is to be an example for everyone to avoid such devilry. God’s judgement indeed does not sleep when one writes the year 89. This happened last October, which one sees here in front of one’s eyes.
Printed in Nuremberg by Lucas Mair, woodcutter behind St. Catherine’s.
Gerda Dinwiddie, German translations of old German script http://www.alteschrift.com
Dana K Rehn 