【新译 X 世界】NO.63:现代怪物

01。

On October 31, 1589, a large crowd gathered in the German city of Bedburg, near Cologne, to witness a execution. The condemned man was Peter Stump, a 50-year-old farmer who had confessed to making a pact with the devil. He wasn’t seeking riches; he wanted the ability to turn into a werewolf. His shocking crimes included multiple murders and cannibalism. Of the 16 people he killed, 13 were children–his own son among them, whose brain he allegedly devoured. “Of all other that ever lived, none was comparable unto this Hellhound,” an account of his execution said. Stump (called Stubbe and Stumpf in some sources) suffered terribly during his execution, one of the most brutal on record. He was strapped to a wheel and skinned alive. 

1589年10月31日，一大群人聚集在德国科隆附近的贝德堡市，见证处决。被判刑的人是彼得·斯图姆，一位50岁的农民，他承认与魔鬼签订了协议。他不是在追求财富；他想要变成狼人的能力。他令人震惊的罪行包括多次谋杀和食人。在他杀害的16人中，有13人是儿童，其中包括他自己的儿子，据称他吞食了他的大脑。“在所有活着的人中，没有一个人能与这只地狱猎犬相比，”一份关于他被处决的描述说道。Stump（在一些消息来源中被称为Stubbe和Stumpf）在被处决期间遭受了可怕的折磨。

02●

The lurid nature of Stump’s crimes and punishment captured the public imagination. Although Stump’s trial and execution stand out, his was not an isolated case. Between the 15th and 18th centuries in Europe famine, plague, war, and religious struggle gave rise to superstitious beliefs, which included fears of witches, usually women, and werewolves, typically men.

Stump犯罪和惩罚的可怕性质吸引了公众的想象力。尽管Stump的审判和处决引人注目，但他并不是一个孤立的案件。15至18世纪期间，欧洲的饥荒、瘟疫、战争和宗教斗争引发了迷信，其中包括对巫婆（通常是女性）的恐惧，以及对狼人（通常是男性）的恐惧。

03●

Accusations of lycanthropy were often intertwined with—but far less frequent than—witchcraft. In some areas of Europe there is no record of werewolf trials at all. In England, where wolves were almost completely eradicated in the 16th century, there are no records of werewolf trials. Nor are there any in the Mediterranean region of Europe. European werewolf panics were centered in areas with wild wolves, forested regions, as well as a strong culture of livestock herding, such as Germany and France. Fears of real wolves preying on animals and children grew into fears of demonic wolves. If rabid wolves were present, werewolves might be blamed for their “crimes.”

对狼人的指控常常与巫术交织在一起，但远没有巫术那么频繁。在欧洲的一些地区根本没有狼人审判的记录。在英格兰，狼在16世纪几乎被彻底消灭。欧洲狼人恐慌主要集中在有野狼的地区、森林地区以及强大的畜牧文化，如德国和法国。对真正的狼捕食动物和儿童的恐惧逐渐演变为对恶魔狼的恐惧。如果存在狂犬病狼，狼人可能会因其“罪行”而受到谴责。