What do you think?
Rate this book
Witches, Werewolves, and Fairies: Shapeshifters and Astral Doubles in the Middle Ages
Reveals the true nature of medieval belief in the Double of the Soul
• Demonstrates the survival of a pagan belief that each individual owns three souls, including a double that can journey outside the physical body
• Explains the nature of death and the Other World hidden beneath the monsters and superstitions in stories from the Middle Ages
Monsters, werewolves, witches, and fairies remain a strong presence in our stories and dreams. But as Claude Lecouteux shows, their roots go far deeper than their appearance in medieval folklore; they are survivors of a much older belief system that predates Christianity and was widespread over Western Europe. Through his extensive analysis of Germano-Scandinavian legends, as well as those from other areas of Europe, Lecouteux has uncovered an almost forgotten religious concept: that every individual owns three souls and that one of these souls, the Double, can—in animal or human form—leave the physical body while in sleep or a trance, journey where it chooses, then reenter its physical body. While there were many who experienced this phenomenon involuntarily, there were others—those who attracted the unwelcome persecution of the Church—who were able to provoke it at will: witches.
In a thorough excavation of the medieval soul, Claude Lecouteux reveals the origin and significance of this belief in the Double, and follows its transforming features through the ages. He shows that far from being fantasy or vague superstition, fairies, witches, and werewolves all testify to a consistent ancient vision of our world and the world beyond.
• Demonstrates the survival of a pagan belief that each individual owns three souls, including a double that can journey outside the physical body
• Explains the nature of death and the Other World hidden beneath the monsters and superstitions in stories from the Middle Ages
Monsters, werewolves, witches, and fairies remain a strong presence in our stories and dreams. But as Claude Lecouteux shows, their roots go far deeper than their appearance in medieval folklore; they are survivors of a much older belief system that predates Christianity and was widespread over Western Europe. Through his extensive analysis of Germano-Scandinavian legends, as well as those from other areas of Europe, Lecouteux has uncovered an almost forgotten religious concept: that every individual owns three souls and that one of these souls, the Double, can—in animal or human form—leave the physical body while in sleep or a trance, journey where it chooses, then reenter its physical body. While there were many who experienced this phenomenon involuntarily, there were others—those who attracted the unwelcome persecution of the Church—who were able to provoke it at will: witches.
In a thorough excavation of the medieval soul, Claude Lecouteux reveals the origin and significance of this belief in the Double, and follows its transforming features through the ages. He shows that far from being fantasy or vague superstition, fairies, witches, and werewolves all testify to a consistent ancient vision of our world and the world beyond.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
32 people are currently reading
1525 people want to read
About the author
Claude Lecouteux
63 books138 followersDocteur en études germaniques, docteur en lettres, est médiéviste. Il a occupé la chaire de Langues, Littératures et civilisations germaniques à l'université de Caen de 1981 à 1992 avant d'être appelé à la Sorbonne (Paris IV) pour occuper celle de Littérature et Civilisation allemande du Moyen Âge jusqu'en octobre 2007. Ses axes de recherches sont: Les êtres de la mythologie populaire, Les croyances touchant aux morts et à la mort, Les mythes, contes et légendes, La magie
Ses travaux lui ont valu de recevoir le Prix Strasbourg en 1982, un prix de l’Académie française la même année, d'être fait Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques en 1995 et Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres en 2006. Jusqu'en décembre 2010, il dirige la revue La grande Oreille, arts de l’oralité et collabore à plusieurs revues sur le Moyen Âge.
Ses travaux lui ont valu de recevoir le Prix Strasbourg en 1982, un prix de l’Académie française la même année, d'être fait Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques en 1995 et Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres en 2006. Jusqu'en décembre 2010, il dirige la revue La grande Oreille, arts de l’oralité et collabore à plusieurs revues sur le Moyen Âge.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
February 17, 2021
Conocí este libro gracias a los vídeos de Alanna, y no tardé mucho en sacarlo de la biblioteca. Es un estudio en el que Claude Lecouteux, el autor, documenta la creencia en entidades como las hadas, las brujas y los hombres lobo. Con mucha influencia de las tradiciones medievales germano-escandinavas, conceptos como El Doble o una profunda discusión sobre el alma (y qué hizo el cristianismo con ella) es lo que encontraréis aquí.
April 4, 2014
Well written, well researched, very informative book about the origin and significance of pagan beliefs in the Double, and follows its transforming features (witches, werewolves and fairies) through the ages. The author analyses Germanic-Scandinavian and other European legends, to uncovered an almost forgotten religious concept: that every individual owns three souls and that one of these souls, the Double, can leave the physical body while in sleep or a trance, journey where it chooses, then reenter its physical body.
I wish the book was fatter. ;)
I wish the book was fatter. ;)
October 21, 2025
¿De qué va este libro?
Normalmente no me pongo a reseñar libros de no-ficción como este, pero las fechas mandan. La cercanía a Halloween me ha hecho tirar a un estudio serio de por qué nos llaman la atención estas cosas. He encontrado en el medievalista Claude Lecouteux a alguien que explora las creencias populares medievales sobre seres como las hadas, brujas, hombres lobo, espíritus y almas errantes, interpretándolas no tanto como supersticiones aisladas, sino como manifestaciones de una idiosincrasia coherente basada en la idea del “Doble” o desdoblamiento del ser humano.
La teoría del Doble
Según Lecouteux, en la época medieval (aunque su corpus abarca ejemplos anteriores y posteriores) el ser humano no era visto como una unidad indivisible. No se queda con el concepto más familiar de cuerpo y alma cristianos, sino que rastrea su origen en concepciones más antiguas. A muchos os sonará el doppelgänger, pero Lecouteux rescata también nociones menos conocidas como la fylgja normánica o el fetch anglosajón: entidades espirituales que acompañan al individuo y que pueden separarse de él. Estas fylgjas, por ejemplo, se asemejan a las hadas célticas, protectoras invisibles que guían o advierten a los vivos; en conjunto, recuerdan mucho al ángel custodio cristiano.
El ser humano es, por tanto, un ser compuesto: cuerpo y varios principios anímicos. Este Doble podía separarse del cuerpo durante el sueño, el trance o la muerte, y era el responsable de los fenómenos que hoy llamaríamos “sobrenaturales”.
Por ejemplo:
Las brujas y los chamanes “viajaban” en espíritu mientras su cuerpo permanecía dormido.
Los hombres lobo no se transformaban físicamente, sino que era su Doble quien asumía la forma animal.
Las hadas y ciertos espíritus serían manifestaciones o proyecciones de ese mundo invisible, paralelo al de los vivos.
El Doble, en general, es invisible, aunque puede manifestarse en forma animal o humana. En muchas leyendas, su aparición anuncia una muerte inminente, como cuando alguien recibe en sueños la visita de una persona que acaba de morir en aquel instante. En otras historias, el espíritu que se ha desprendido no puede regresar al cuerpo porque este yace boca abajo, motivo por el cual algunas tradiciones recomiendan evitar esa postura al dormir.
Enfoque histórico y antropológico
Lecouteux se apoya en una amplia gama de fuentes medievales —crónicas, archivos eclesiásticos, cuentos populares, tratados demonológicos e incluso sentencias judiciales— para reconstruir esta visión del alma múltiple, mostrando cómo la cristianización reinterpretó y reprimió muchas de estas ideas, considerándolas demoníacas. No se negaba su existencia: se las atribuía al diablo.
El ámbito del estudio es eminentemente europeo, con especial atención al mundo germánico y escandinavo, aunque también hay ejemplos latinos que muestran la continuidad de la creencia en el Doble desde la Antigüedad hasta el folklore moderno. En estos textos encontramos incluso detalles fascinantes: el Doble puede abandonar el cuerpo en forma zoomorfa —moscas, insectos, un ratón o una serpiente— que salen por la boca del durmiente. Cuando estas manifestaciones se aceptan, son protectoras; cuando se demonizan, se degradan, por ejemplo, haciendo que el alma escape por el ano.
Sombras, fantasmas y metamorfosis
Uno de los temas más sugerentes del libro es la asimilación de la sombra al alma. Esta idea explicaría por qué se creía que los muertos, los brujos y las brujas no tienen sombra, y también supersticiones como la de que, si nuestra sombra cae sobre un muerto, nos convertiremos en vampiros. La sombra, al igual que el Doble, se separa del cuerpo, y cuando este muere, el Doble no muere con él: de ahí la explicación de los fantasmas, los aparecidos y el origen mismo de la necromancia.
El Doble es mutable: puede transformarse en animal o adoptar la apariencia de otra persona. En esa plasticidad se encuentra la raíz de las leyendas de hombres lobo, de metamorfosis y de los viajes extáticos de brujas, magos, santos y místicos, cuyos cuerpos dormían mientras su espíritu recorría otros mundos.
Herencias y transmisiones del poder
Las capacidades chamánicas o de desdoblamiento se heredan: pertenecen a ciertos clanes o pueden transferirse de modo fortuito, por ejemplo, si alguien duerme sobre la tumba de un chamán. En otros casos, el poder nace desde el nacimiento: nacer con cofia, es decir, con la bolsa amniótica intacta, es señal de suerte, protección y de dones especiales.
También resulta curioso que, en los textos escandinavos, las hadas apenas aparezcan fuera de las adaptaciones francesas; en cambio, es común el tema del animal conductor —una figura guía que, en realidad, es la manifestación del Doble zoomorfo del héroe—. En muchas tradiciones, esa guía puede adoptar forma femenina: la esposa natural, una derivación clara del concepto del Doble protector. De ahí al ángel de la guarda hay un paso.
En definitiva, es un libro muy interesante para ver de donde nacen muchos de los textos de los que se nutre la ficción sobrenatural actual. No nos hemos inventado nada😁.
Incluyo aquí una reflexión personal que no se incluye en el libro: ¿Por qué no me hablan aquí de vampiros?
Aunque Lecoteux toca de forma tangencial el tema del vampirismo lo deja fuera. El vampiro como tal pertenece a una época posterior, más de los siglos XVII-XVIII. Tiene más que ver con un cadáver, un muerto que sigue vivo. En la teoría de Lecoteux, incluso en los hombres lobo, la persona está dormida y el doble realiza sus fechorías.
El Doble: es una proyección del alma, intangible, aérea, a menudo invisible.
El Vampiro: es una reanimación del cuerpo, corpórea, visible, putrefacta o incorrupta.
Normalmente no me pongo a reseñar libros de no-ficción como este, pero las fechas mandan. La cercanía a Halloween me ha hecho tirar a un estudio serio de por qué nos llaman la atención estas cosas. He encontrado en el medievalista Claude Lecouteux a alguien que explora las creencias populares medievales sobre seres como las hadas, brujas, hombres lobo, espíritus y almas errantes, interpretándolas no tanto como supersticiones aisladas, sino como manifestaciones de una idiosincrasia coherente basada en la idea del “Doble” o desdoblamiento del ser humano.
La teoría del Doble
Según Lecouteux, en la época medieval (aunque su corpus abarca ejemplos anteriores y posteriores) el ser humano no era visto como una unidad indivisible. No se queda con el concepto más familiar de cuerpo y alma cristianos, sino que rastrea su origen en concepciones más antiguas. A muchos os sonará el doppelgänger, pero Lecouteux rescata también nociones menos conocidas como la fylgja normánica o el fetch anglosajón: entidades espirituales que acompañan al individuo y que pueden separarse de él. Estas fylgjas, por ejemplo, se asemejan a las hadas célticas, protectoras invisibles que guían o advierten a los vivos; en conjunto, recuerdan mucho al ángel custodio cristiano.
El ser humano es, por tanto, un ser compuesto: cuerpo y varios principios anímicos. Este Doble podía separarse del cuerpo durante el sueño, el trance o la muerte, y era el responsable de los fenómenos que hoy llamaríamos “sobrenaturales”.
Por ejemplo:
Las brujas y los chamanes “viajaban” en espíritu mientras su cuerpo permanecía dormido.
Los hombres lobo no se transformaban físicamente, sino que era su Doble quien asumía la forma animal.
Las hadas y ciertos espíritus serían manifestaciones o proyecciones de ese mundo invisible, paralelo al de los vivos.
El Doble, en general, es invisible, aunque puede manifestarse en forma animal o humana. En muchas leyendas, su aparición anuncia una muerte inminente, como cuando alguien recibe en sueños la visita de una persona que acaba de morir en aquel instante. En otras historias, el espíritu que se ha desprendido no puede regresar al cuerpo porque este yace boca abajo, motivo por el cual algunas tradiciones recomiendan evitar esa postura al dormir.
Enfoque histórico y antropológico
Lecouteux se apoya en una amplia gama de fuentes medievales —crónicas, archivos eclesiásticos, cuentos populares, tratados demonológicos e incluso sentencias judiciales— para reconstruir esta visión del alma múltiple, mostrando cómo la cristianización reinterpretó y reprimió muchas de estas ideas, considerándolas demoníacas. No se negaba su existencia: se las atribuía al diablo.
El ámbito del estudio es eminentemente europeo, con especial atención al mundo germánico y escandinavo, aunque también hay ejemplos latinos que muestran la continuidad de la creencia en el Doble desde la Antigüedad hasta el folklore moderno. En estos textos encontramos incluso detalles fascinantes: el Doble puede abandonar el cuerpo en forma zoomorfa —moscas, insectos, un ratón o una serpiente— que salen por la boca del durmiente. Cuando estas manifestaciones se aceptan, son protectoras; cuando se demonizan, se degradan, por ejemplo, haciendo que el alma escape por el ano.
Sombras, fantasmas y metamorfosis
Uno de los temas más sugerentes del libro es la asimilación de la sombra al alma. Esta idea explicaría por qué se creía que los muertos, los brujos y las brujas no tienen sombra, y también supersticiones como la de que, si nuestra sombra cae sobre un muerto, nos convertiremos en vampiros. La sombra, al igual que el Doble, se separa del cuerpo, y cuando este muere, el Doble no muere con él: de ahí la explicación de los fantasmas, los aparecidos y el origen mismo de la necromancia.
El Doble es mutable: puede transformarse en animal o adoptar la apariencia de otra persona. En esa plasticidad se encuentra la raíz de las leyendas de hombres lobo, de metamorfosis y de los viajes extáticos de brujas, magos, santos y místicos, cuyos cuerpos dormían mientras su espíritu recorría otros mundos.
Herencias y transmisiones del poder
Las capacidades chamánicas o de desdoblamiento se heredan: pertenecen a ciertos clanes o pueden transferirse de modo fortuito, por ejemplo, si alguien duerme sobre la tumba de un chamán. En otros casos, el poder nace desde el nacimiento: nacer con cofia, es decir, con la bolsa amniótica intacta, es señal de suerte, protección y de dones especiales.
También resulta curioso que, en los textos escandinavos, las hadas apenas aparezcan fuera de las adaptaciones francesas; en cambio, es común el tema del animal conductor —una figura guía que, en realidad, es la manifestación del Doble zoomorfo del héroe—. En muchas tradiciones, esa guía puede adoptar forma femenina: la esposa natural, una derivación clara del concepto del Doble protector. De ahí al ángel de la guarda hay un paso.
En definitiva, es un libro muy interesante para ver de donde nacen muchos de los textos de los que se nutre la ficción sobrenatural actual. No nos hemos inventado nada😁.
Incluyo aquí una reflexión personal que no se incluye en el libro: ¿Por qué no me hablan aquí de vampiros?
Aunque Lecoteux toca de forma tangencial el tema del vampirismo lo deja fuera. El vampiro como tal pertenece a una época posterior, más de los siglos XVII-XVIII. Tiene más que ver con un cadáver, un muerto que sigue vivo. En la teoría de Lecoteux, incluso en los hombres lobo, la persona está dormida y el doble realiza sus fechorías.
El Doble: es una proyección del alma, intangible, aérea, a menudo invisible.
El Vampiro: es una reanimación del cuerpo, corpórea, visible, putrefacta o incorrupta.
April 23, 2012
Scholarly piece of work that canvasses the gamut of European traditions and talks extensively about the Astral Double. Prior to the advent of Christianity which propagated the belief in just one complete soul and one complete body,the Europeans believed that there were three parts. The first part of the soul was called the Fylgja, the second part was called the Hugr and the third part was the Hamr.
The Fylgja acted as sort of an guardian angel. It could take the form of a human or animal. The Fylgja would stay with a person from their birth until their death. Upon death the Fylgja would go to someone else. For a male the Fylgja would often appear as a female. In the Siberian shaman tradition the man would meet this female and be married to her. The could not have children of course but the shaman would be taught magic by the Fylgja. The Fylgja would carry out battles on the behalf of their owner. The appearance of these Fylgjas lead people to call them fairies.
The Hugr is the astral double that usually looks like the person. Also called the fetch. It could travel far distances and be seen by different people as well as view what was going on in distant places. If it got wounded the persons physical body. This fetch could take human form or animal form, including that of the werewolf.
Werewolf was nothing but the astral double of the person who was astral planing. Usually the werewolf was born with six fingers, one eyebrow or with the caul still over it's head. Sometimes a person was spelled to be a werewolf. The werewolves of Livonia and the benadanti in Italy would battle evil sorcerers and take back seeds and grains they had stolen and brought to hell. They guaranteed the harvest.
Witches also sent their astral doubles forward to do certain deeds. Some good some bad. There were times when they stole children sometimes they did good things. On the sabbats they would smear their bodies with flying ointment and imagine they were flying with the Goddess Diana or her daughter Herodia. Sometimes they flew with Abonde. It was their Hugrs that were flying. Shamans could leave their body as will with special techniques.
While the Hugr was out the person's body could not be moved. They had to be left lying on their back.To put them on their stomach would not allow the hugr to return to the body and they would be forced to wander forever. Not much is said about the hamr although it seems to be like an energy that can be used to cause nightmares. Most people do not astral travel or have their Hugr leave their body unless they are sick or experience some grave trauma. Sometimes the Hugr would visit different realms.
The book uses many tales from the Norse religion and goes extensively into Romans and Greek lore as well. The similarity between them all despite the lack of connection is amazing. This is a must read.
The Fylgja acted as sort of an guardian angel. It could take the form of a human or animal. The Fylgja would stay with a person from their birth until their death. Upon death the Fylgja would go to someone else. For a male the Fylgja would often appear as a female. In the Siberian shaman tradition the man would meet this female and be married to her. The could not have children of course but the shaman would be taught magic by the Fylgja. The Fylgja would carry out battles on the behalf of their owner. The appearance of these Fylgjas lead people to call them fairies.
The Hugr is the astral double that usually looks like the person. Also called the fetch. It could travel far distances and be seen by different people as well as view what was going on in distant places. If it got wounded the persons physical body. This fetch could take human form or animal form, including that of the werewolf.
Werewolf was nothing but the astral double of the person who was astral planing. Usually the werewolf was born with six fingers, one eyebrow or with the caul still over it's head. Sometimes a person was spelled to be a werewolf. The werewolves of Livonia and the benadanti in Italy would battle evil sorcerers and take back seeds and grains they had stolen and brought to hell. They guaranteed the harvest.
Witches also sent their astral doubles forward to do certain deeds. Some good some bad. There were times when they stole children sometimes they did good things. On the sabbats they would smear their bodies with flying ointment and imagine they were flying with the Goddess Diana or her daughter Herodia. Sometimes they flew with Abonde. It was their Hugrs that were flying. Shamans could leave their body as will with special techniques.
While the Hugr was out the person's body could not be moved. They had to be left lying on their back.To put them on their stomach would not allow the hugr to return to the body and they would be forced to wander forever. Not much is said about the hamr although it seems to be like an energy that can be used to cause nightmares. Most people do not astral travel or have their Hugr leave their body unless they are sick or experience some grave trauma. Sometimes the Hugr would visit different realms.
The book uses many tales from the Norse religion and goes extensively into Romans and Greek lore as well. The similarity between them all despite the lack of connection is amazing. This is a must read.
December 26, 2023
En la primera parte del libro nos introduce en la concepción antigua que se tenía del alma , así como conceptos esenciales de brujería como: “espíritu”, “genio” y “ánima”; Doble, Fetch o Fylgja y la relación con ese acompañante mágico; la distinción entre visiones y sueños; el desdoblamiento del espíritu en distintas situaciones y culturas (lo que ahora llamamos “viaje astral”, “viaje extático” o vuelo del espíritu”).
En la segunda parte se trata más extensamente la relación del Doble con el Destino. También se introduce a las hadas como figuras que pueden determinar la suerte de un individuo y se hablan de uniones sagradas entre un mortal y un hada que acepta a esta entidad mágica como acompañante en su vida.
En la tercera parte, se explica el fenómeno de la autoscopia o ver el Doble, distinguiendo entre el Doble Material y el Espiritual. En el pasado, cuando uno solía ver a su doble era porque iba a morir. Aquí una vez más se vuelve a la idea de Destino. Por otro lado, se distingue entre los conceptos de “imagen”, “reflejo” y “sombra” y se trata el tema de las apariciones y los fantasmas.
Lo que me gusta del libro es que desmitifica muchas falsas creencias respecto a la brujería y clarifica la realidad de prácticas clave relacionadas con ella, poniéndolas en contexto. Te explica de dónde surgen esas ideas y costumbres, ofreciendo mucha bibliografía para seguir investigando y comprendiendo la esencia de lo que significan. La pega que le veo para principiantes jóvenes es que requiere de cierta formación educativa para que se entiendan las referencias culturales o momentos históricos a los que hace alusión. Para mí la lectura no resultó pesada,pero conviene tomar notas porque las ideas que se presentan en un apartado tienen relación con otras.
En la segunda parte se trata más extensamente la relación del Doble con el Destino. También se introduce a las hadas como figuras que pueden determinar la suerte de un individuo y se hablan de uniones sagradas entre un mortal y un hada que acepta a esta entidad mágica como acompañante en su vida.
En la tercera parte, se explica el fenómeno de la autoscopia o ver el Doble, distinguiendo entre el Doble Material y el Espiritual. En el pasado, cuando uno solía ver a su doble era porque iba a morir. Aquí una vez más se vuelve a la idea de Destino. Por otro lado, se distingue entre los conceptos de “imagen”, “reflejo” y “sombra” y se trata el tema de las apariciones y los fantasmas.
Lo que me gusta del libro es que desmitifica muchas falsas creencias respecto a la brujería y clarifica la realidad de prácticas clave relacionadas con ella, poniéndolas en contexto. Te explica de dónde surgen esas ideas y costumbres, ofreciendo mucha bibliografía para seguir investigando y comprendiendo la esencia de lo que significan. La pega que le veo para principiantes jóvenes es que requiere de cierta formación educativa para que se entiendan las referencias culturales o momentos históricos a los que hace alusión. Para mí la lectura no resultó pesada,pero conviene tomar notas porque las ideas que se presentan en un apartado tienen relación con otras.
December 1, 2021
That title had lead me to believe this was going to be a simple inquiry on the history of folkloric creatures, turns out it's about the soul(s) and its influence on spirituality and superstitions. As such, I can't help but feel a bit more indifferent on the results than I had anticipated. And though it's well-researched it's also a bit messy in presentation for my taste.
It's also worth mentioning that I do not posses the current tools to either confirm or deny the claims made in this book. I wouldn't be surprised if didn't correspond with reality because they're way too convoluted.
So I'm going to give it 2 stars because it didn't convince me, but don't let that stop you from trying it out, it's probably me and not the book.
It's also worth mentioning that I do not posses the current tools to either confirm or deny the claims made in this book. I wouldn't be surprised if didn't correspond with reality because they're way too convoluted.
So I'm going to give it 2 stars because it didn't convince me, but don't let that stop you from trying it out, it's probably me and not the book.
July 24, 2008
Surprisingly academic. It poses a clear hypothesis and supports it convincingly with interesting case histories.
November 15, 2015
I liked this book overall. Lecouteux has some interesting insight into interpreting historical accounts of witches and werewolves through the lens of the concept of the fylgja, or the spirit double. Of particular interest was his presentation of relevant translated material from trial transcripts that described accounts of people appearing and physically acting, usually at night, while their physical bodies were sleeping in their beds. The only place the book faltered a bit for me personally was his chapter on fairies; the author seems to be weak in Celtic fairy lore and he makes several assumptions and draws conclusions that are not supported by the actual folklore. I don't think he was intentionally cherry picking his material to support his theory, but it seems that he did not study that area in enough depth before including it. For example he concludes that fairies are actually projections of the fylgja and so appear as the opposite gender of the person to whom they appear (a genuine belief applying to fylgjas in Norse material) and he presents examples from literature of men with fairy lovers to support this; however in Celtic fairy lore a person may just as likely see a fairy of the same gender as the opposite one. In any case, excluding that one problematic chapter, I did like this book and found it interesting.
February 16, 2019
A number of his translations are questionable. His Saxon & Norse translations directly support his Double concept, but contradict common translations in order to fit his theory (ex. eigi einhamr, typically “of more than one skin”, e.g. shapeshifter). Also makes many assumptions, for instance that a medieval term translated as changing shapes “really” means forming a Double. Assumes that any accounts that do not match up with his theory “muddle the facts” (120), rather than revising his theory.
Mischaracterizes the work of other researchers. A notable example is his dismissal of Carlo Ginzburg, via a false claim about Ginzburg’s work that leads to questioning whether he actually read Ginzburg (this reviewer has, repeatedly).
Finally, throughout the text, he self-contradicts. For example, referring to one of the supposed three parts of the soul as theriomorphic or having an “animal nature” (47), right after 2.5 pages of detailed descriptions of the form as human tutelary spirits (and right before nearly 2 pages describing another fragment as taking animal forms).
Mischaracterizes the work of other researchers. A notable example is his dismissal of Carlo Ginzburg, via a false claim about Ginzburg’s work that leads to questioning whether he actually read Ginzburg (this reviewer has, repeatedly).
Finally, throughout the text, he self-contradicts. For example, referring to one of the supposed three parts of the soul as theriomorphic or having an “animal nature” (47), right after 2.5 pages of detailed descriptions of the form as human tutelary spirits (and right before nearly 2 pages describing another fragment as taking animal forms).
September 6, 2021
This book was a delight! If you enjoy reading something scholarly, and full of references to source material, you will appreciate "Witches, Werewolves, and Fairies: Shapeshifters and Astral Doubles in the Middle Ages".
I have long been fascinated by fetches, doubles, and doppelgangers, which is why I picked this book up in the first place. There was so much information on this topic! And; while the core of this book is gleaned from Medieval sources, the author thoroughly explains why he thinks that some of these sources are indicative of older, pre-Christian belief systems.
There is a wealth of material from Heathenry, Germanic, Danish, and Scandinavian. modern Heathens should find this particularly tasty. Most of the remaining source material is French.
I highly recommend this book. It truly is a good read.
I have long been fascinated by fetches, doubles, and doppelgangers, which is why I picked this book up in the first place. There was so much information on this topic! And; while the core of this book is gleaned from Medieval sources, the author thoroughly explains why he thinks that some of these sources are indicative of older, pre-Christian belief systems.
There is a wealth of material from Heathenry, Germanic, Danish, and Scandinavian. modern Heathens should find this particularly tasty. Most of the remaining source material is French.
I highly recommend this book. It truly is a good read.
August 8, 2021
Hay autores que agradezco haber podido conocer y este medievalista francés es uno de ellos. La obra es un estudio que muestra como esas tres figuras míticas son manifestaciones de un fenómeno que conocemos como el doble y nos lleva a un viaje por los mitos nórdicos y germanos dónde se muestra como la figura del doble pasará por el tamiz de la cristiandad obteniendo de ahí la figura de lo que hoy conocemos como "alma".
Un libro complementario a este que nos clarifica aún más esta visión del alma que nos muestra Lcouteux es "El alma, el espíritu y el sentido. Las mutaciones del lenguaje en la espiritualidad occidental" de Pere Sánchez Ferré, también publicado por Olañeta, donde conocemos los conceptos de Psyque, Pneuma y Nous cuyo origen deviene tal vez del antiguo Egipto, pero que permea en casi todas las culturas.
Un libro complementario a este que nos clarifica aún más esta visión del alma que nos muestra Lcouteux es "El alma, el espíritu y el sentido. Las mutaciones del lenguaje en la espiritualidad occidental" de Pere Sánchez Ferré, también publicado por Olañeta, donde conocemos los conceptos de Psyque, Pneuma y Nous cuyo origen deviene tal vez del antiguo Egipto, pero que permea en casi todas las culturas.
August 10, 2011
Lecouteux aborde dans cet ouvrage la notion du double au Moyen Age: les loups-garou notamment mais aussi les sorcières sont la personnification de cette notion. Une théorie intéressante mais qui, à mons avis, n'est pas complètement satisfaisante à la fois d'un point intellectuel (que faire des histoires où un loup-garou n'est pas un double?), culturel (et le christianisme dans tout ça?) et instinctive (cf. son ouvrage sur les elfes et les nains beaucoup plus enthousiasmant).
January 14, 2018
Taken as a study of the mentality of folks in the past, specifically the Middle Ages and specifically about beliefs in the afterlife and the soul, this book succeeds. In fact, it's deserving probably of more serious attention than it seems to get (the translation was published by some crystal-rubbing, new age publisher) since it documents the idea of a tripartite soul that goes back to ancient times and how that idea informed medieval notions that evolved into stuff like lycanthropy, shape-shifting, night flying and other craziness. The book's weakness is that it leans a little too heavily on literature, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but Claude's thesis would be bolstered and buttresed by a more document-driven approach, something like Ginzburg has done (Maybe Claude did this, I haven't read his other stuff). It also focuses on Nordic materials, as he covered other parts of Europe in other works. My other nitpick is that the idea of the "Double" itself isn't something explicit in many of the texts and mentalities he offers as evidence, it's more an interpretation he makes himself, not necessarily a false one, but one that might be better served utilizing a concept that doesn't come across as so backwards-projected.
September 5, 2018
This book was a complete surprise for me but fascinating. It does presuppose that you are familiar with the concept of the Double and early works by Lecouteaux (I was not but managed to get along just fine). It feels well researched and I found that reading texts about witches, werewolves, and fairies through the lens of a Double completely transformed how I viewed them. I read this for novel research and though I didn't find exactly what I was looking for I enjoyed all the food for thought and discovered a few new story ideas along the way.
December 25, 2025
The title "Witches, Werewolves and Fairies: Shapeshifters and Astral Doubles in the Middle Ages" directly describes what the book explores. Lecouteux uses these three supernatural figures (witches, werewolves, and fairies) as entry points to understand a single underlying belief system that medieval people held: the concept of the "Double" or "alter ego" [a second self that exists alongside your physical body]. The book argues these creatures are not separate phenomena but different versions of the same ancient belief that each human has a spiritual or physical double that can leave the body and transform into animal shapes. The title is literal because all three creature types are discussed through this unified lens of "shapeshifters" who possess spiritual doubles.
This is an academic historical study that examines medieval European beliefs about the soul, ghosts, spirit projection, and supernatural transformation. Lecouteux, a respected medieval scholar, argues that beliefs about witches flying at night, werewolves transforming into animals, and fairy encounters are not separate superstitions but rather variations of an older, coherent belief system centered on the idea that humans possess multiple souls or a "Double" [an alternate version of yourself] that can separate from the body.
The book is densely researched, using primary medieval sources including sagas, trial records, literary texts, and folklore from Germanic, Scandinavian, Celtic, and Eastern European cultures. It contains three main sections covering ecstatic journeys, the disguises of the double (fairies, witches, werewolves), and how people claimed to perceive their own doubles.
STRENGTHS:
This is genuinely impressive academic work. Lecouteux draws from dozens of primary sources across multiple languages and cultures. He doesn't rely on secondhand interpretations but goes back to original medieval texts, trial records, and folklore collections. The book includes references to Old Norse sagas, Icelandic literature, Celtic romance traditions, German penitentials [religious books listing sins and punishments], and Eastern European folk beliefs. For readers interested in medieval history, comparative religion, or folklore, the breadth of source material is remarkable.
A Unified Theory That Makes Sense
Before reading this book, medieval superstitions about witches, werewolves, and fairies seem disconnected and contradictory. Lecouteux's central argument ties them together brilliantly: all three figures represent the same fundamental belief in a detachable human double or alter ego. A witch flying at night is not actually flying in her body but projecting her spiritual double. A werewolf is not transforming but rather projecting an animal-shaped double while the physical body remains in a trance. A fairy is a human's own destiny or protective spirit in the form of a supernatural woman. Once you understand this framework, all the strange details in old stories suddenly make logical sense. The book transforms apparent medieval irrationality into a coherent worldview.
Challenges Christian Bias in Historical Interpretation
Lecouteux makes an important methodological point: medieval Christian clerics who recorded these beliefs actively misrepresented them, filtering everything through a demonological [demonic or evil] lens. When a medieval text describes someone's spirit leaving their body, the Church interpreted this as demonic possession or illusion. Lecouteux shows how this religious bias obscured the original pagan beliefs. By peeling back the Christian distortions, he reconstructs what medieval people actually believed rather than what the Church claimed they believed. This is genuinely valuable historical work.
Fascinating Specific Examples:
The book contains compelling individual stories that illustrate the Double belief perfectly:
✦ The detailed account of the 1692 trial of Thiess in Livonia [a Baltic region], a man who claimed to be a werewolf and explained his activities as joining a mystical troop that traveled to hell to retrieve stolen seeds. The trial record shows him was not confused or lying but calmly explaining beliefs he genuinely held about his spiritual travels.
✦ The story of a baker in Brittany who died and appeared to his family kneading dough with them at night. When they exhumed him, his body was covered in mud and flour, suggesting his physical body had somehow participated in the activity his double was performing.
✦ Multiple literary examples showing werewolves who keep their intelligence despite animal form, whose animal wounds transfer to their human bodies, and whose clothes function as anchors keeping their bodies stable while their doubles roam.
Addresses Living Anthropology and Modern Parallels
Lecouteux notes that belief in doubles continues in contemporary folklore, spiritualism [belief in communicating with spirits], and even appears in modern literature and film (he mentions The Matrix as an example where the plot involves consciousness existing outside the body, a modern technological version of the ancient double concept). He also discusses how modern near-death experiences [NDEs where people report leaving their bodies during medical emergencies] mirror medieval descriptions of spirit projection. This shows the belief is not simply medieval superstition but a recurring human experience.
WEAKNESSES
The Book is Genuinely Difficult to Read
This is dense academic writing packed with scholarly apparatus. Sentences often run long and complex. Foreign terms appear without always being clearly explained. The author frequently jumps between examples from different cultures and time periods. For a general reader hoping for an entertaining exploration of medieval superstition, this book will feel heavy and exhausting. You need either genuine scholarly interest or patience to work through it. The writing style is not a weakness if you are the intended audience (academics and serious history readers), but it significantly limits accessibility.
Some Arguments Rest on Interpretation Rather Than Direct Evidence
Lecouteux's central thesis about the Double is compelling, but it requires accepting his interpretation of medieval texts. When a medieval author describes something ambiguously, Lecouteux sometimes reads it through his Double theory. For example, when a text says a wizard "disappeared" from one place and "appeared" in another, Lecouteux interprets this as spirit projection, but it could also simply be vague description or magical thinking. The theory is elegant, but readers should remember it is still an interpretation, not proven fact.
Heavy Reliance on Germanic and Scandinavian Sources
Although Lecouteux claims to examine medieval Europe broadly, his examples are overwhelmingly drawn from Norse, Germanic, and Baltic cultures, where more detailed written records survive. Celtic and southern European examples are present but fewer. This could mean either that the Double belief was genuinely stronger in the North (plausible, as Christianity took longer to erase older beliefs there) or that the book's conclusions reflect what we happen to have more documentation about. The geographic bias is understandable but remains a limitation.
Limited Discussion of Why People Stopped Believing in Doubles
The book shows how Christian interpretation suppressed the double belief, but there is surprisingly little discussion of why people eventually abandoned it completely. Was it purely Church suppression? Did urbanization and changing economic conditions make the belief less relevant? How did the Scientific Revolution [period when modern science developed] finally kill it? These are interesting questions the book touches but doesn't thoroughly explore.
Some Readers May Find the Shamanic Connection Overstated
Lecouteux repeatedly traces beliefs about doubles back to shamanism [religious practices involving spirit journeys and communication with the spirit world, common among northern peoples]. While this connection is plausible and historically supported, it sometimes feels like the book assumes shamanism as the origin point without fully proving it. Not all scholars accept that shamanism is the root of all these European beliefs. The book presents shamanism as the explanation but some experts might find this reductive.
If you are an academic or history enthusiast, this book is rewarding. You will emerge with a fundamentally new understanding of medieval superstition.This is a scholarly, dense book that gives a deep, serious understanding of medieval belief systems
This is an academic historical study that examines medieval European beliefs about the soul, ghosts, spirit projection, and supernatural transformation. Lecouteux, a respected medieval scholar, argues that beliefs about witches flying at night, werewolves transforming into animals, and fairy encounters are not separate superstitions but rather variations of an older, coherent belief system centered on the idea that humans possess multiple souls or a "Double" [an alternate version of yourself] that can separate from the body.
The book is densely researched, using primary medieval sources including sagas, trial records, literary texts, and folklore from Germanic, Scandinavian, Celtic, and Eastern European cultures. It contains three main sections covering ecstatic journeys, the disguises of the double (fairies, witches, werewolves), and how people claimed to perceive their own doubles.
STRENGTHS:
This is genuinely impressive academic work. Lecouteux draws from dozens of primary sources across multiple languages and cultures. He doesn't rely on secondhand interpretations but goes back to original medieval texts, trial records, and folklore collections. The book includes references to Old Norse sagas, Icelandic literature, Celtic romance traditions, German penitentials [religious books listing sins and punishments], and Eastern European folk beliefs. For readers interested in medieval history, comparative religion, or folklore, the breadth of source material is remarkable.
A Unified Theory That Makes Sense
Before reading this book, medieval superstitions about witches, werewolves, and fairies seem disconnected and contradictory. Lecouteux's central argument ties them together brilliantly: all three figures represent the same fundamental belief in a detachable human double or alter ego. A witch flying at night is not actually flying in her body but projecting her spiritual double. A werewolf is not transforming but rather projecting an animal-shaped double while the physical body remains in a trance. A fairy is a human's own destiny or protective spirit in the form of a supernatural woman. Once you understand this framework, all the strange details in old stories suddenly make logical sense. The book transforms apparent medieval irrationality into a coherent worldview.
Challenges Christian Bias in Historical Interpretation
Lecouteux makes an important methodological point: medieval Christian clerics who recorded these beliefs actively misrepresented them, filtering everything through a demonological [demonic or evil] lens. When a medieval text describes someone's spirit leaving their body, the Church interpreted this as demonic possession or illusion. Lecouteux shows how this religious bias obscured the original pagan beliefs. By peeling back the Christian distortions, he reconstructs what medieval people actually believed rather than what the Church claimed they believed. This is genuinely valuable historical work.
Fascinating Specific Examples:
The book contains compelling individual stories that illustrate the Double belief perfectly:
✦ The detailed account of the 1692 trial of Thiess in Livonia [a Baltic region], a man who claimed to be a werewolf and explained his activities as joining a mystical troop that traveled to hell to retrieve stolen seeds. The trial record shows him was not confused or lying but calmly explaining beliefs he genuinely held about his spiritual travels.
✦ The story of a baker in Brittany who died and appeared to his family kneading dough with them at night. When they exhumed him, his body was covered in mud and flour, suggesting his physical body had somehow participated in the activity his double was performing.
✦ Multiple literary examples showing werewolves who keep their intelligence despite animal form, whose animal wounds transfer to their human bodies, and whose clothes function as anchors keeping their bodies stable while their doubles roam.
Addresses Living Anthropology and Modern Parallels
Lecouteux notes that belief in doubles continues in contemporary folklore, spiritualism [belief in communicating with spirits], and even appears in modern literature and film (he mentions The Matrix as an example where the plot involves consciousness existing outside the body, a modern technological version of the ancient double concept). He also discusses how modern near-death experiences [NDEs where people report leaving their bodies during medical emergencies] mirror medieval descriptions of spirit projection. This shows the belief is not simply medieval superstition but a recurring human experience.
WEAKNESSES
The Book is Genuinely Difficult to Read
This is dense academic writing packed with scholarly apparatus. Sentences often run long and complex. Foreign terms appear without always being clearly explained. The author frequently jumps between examples from different cultures and time periods. For a general reader hoping for an entertaining exploration of medieval superstition, this book will feel heavy and exhausting. You need either genuine scholarly interest or patience to work through it. The writing style is not a weakness if you are the intended audience (academics and serious history readers), but it significantly limits accessibility.
Some Arguments Rest on Interpretation Rather Than Direct Evidence
Lecouteux's central thesis about the Double is compelling, but it requires accepting his interpretation of medieval texts. When a medieval author describes something ambiguously, Lecouteux sometimes reads it through his Double theory. For example, when a text says a wizard "disappeared" from one place and "appeared" in another, Lecouteux interprets this as spirit projection, but it could also simply be vague description or magical thinking. The theory is elegant, but readers should remember it is still an interpretation, not proven fact.
Heavy Reliance on Germanic and Scandinavian Sources
Although Lecouteux claims to examine medieval Europe broadly, his examples are overwhelmingly drawn from Norse, Germanic, and Baltic cultures, where more detailed written records survive. Celtic and southern European examples are present but fewer. This could mean either that the Double belief was genuinely stronger in the North (plausible, as Christianity took longer to erase older beliefs there) or that the book's conclusions reflect what we happen to have more documentation about. The geographic bias is understandable but remains a limitation.
Limited Discussion of Why People Stopped Believing in Doubles
The book shows how Christian interpretation suppressed the double belief, but there is surprisingly little discussion of why people eventually abandoned it completely. Was it purely Church suppression? Did urbanization and changing economic conditions make the belief less relevant? How did the Scientific Revolution [period when modern science developed] finally kill it? These are interesting questions the book touches but doesn't thoroughly explore.
Some Readers May Find the Shamanic Connection Overstated
Lecouteux repeatedly traces beliefs about doubles back to shamanism [religious practices involving spirit journeys and communication with the spirit world, common among northern peoples]. While this connection is plausible and historically supported, it sometimes feels like the book assumes shamanism as the origin point without fully proving it. Not all scholars accept that shamanism is the root of all these European beliefs. The book presents shamanism as the explanation but some experts might find this reductive.
If you are an academic or history enthusiast, this book is rewarding. You will emerge with a fundamentally new understanding of medieval superstition.This is a scholarly, dense book that gives a deep, serious understanding of medieval belief systems
November 11, 2015
Lecouteux is my favorite non-fiction writer and folklorist. He focuses much of his work on occult topics like ghosts, vampires, witches, and fairies but he gives us evidence into how these legends and superstitions are linked to the ancient pagan belief system and pagan mind. He intertwines shamanism and explains many of our modern day mysteries with the old religions.
This particular book started out a wee bit slow, but towards the middle really picked up. I actually had a few epiphanies in the middle of the book where he explained how astral doubles leave our bodies through our mouths and then return the same route. Unbelievably I had a dream years ago that I saw snakes entering people's mouths. I could never understand what this dream had meant, but upon reading about the astral doubles' way of exiting and entering the body I was sure this was what I had seen. I was blown away.
If you are a lucid dreamer or astral traveler or interested in shapeshifting, etc. this book is perfect. It is very academic but also intriguing. Five stars!!!
This particular book started out a wee bit slow, but towards the middle really picked up. I actually had a few epiphanies in the middle of the book where he explained how astral doubles leave our bodies through our mouths and then return the same route. Unbelievably I had a dream years ago that I saw snakes entering people's mouths. I could never understand what this dream had meant, but upon reading about the astral doubles' way of exiting and entering the body I was sure this was what I had seen. I was blown away.
If you are a lucid dreamer or astral traveler or interested in shapeshifting, etc. this book is perfect. It is very academic but also intriguing. Five stars!!!
October 29, 2022
La figura del doble es imprescindible para comprender la práctica de la brujería, el libro te muestra desde diferentes perspectivas la interpretación de este fenómeno, como lo llamaron y las diferentes formas y características que podía tener.
El gran valor que le veo es que todo gira en torno al doble y aunque algunas explicaciones están cogidas con pinzas dentro de todo el contexto tienen sentido. La única pega es que es difícil entender realmente las diferencias que existían entre las almas que durante el libro las va comparando pero con diferentes periodos y culturas, aun así me ha fascinado ver como de atrás en el tiempo te puedes ir y como ha aguantado el paso de los siglos la creencia.
El gran valor que le veo es que todo gira en torno al doble y aunque algunas explicaciones están cogidas con pinzas dentro de todo el contexto tienen sentido. La única pega es que es difícil entender realmente las diferencias que existían entre las almas que durante el libro las va comparando pero con diferentes periodos y culturas, aun así me ha fascinado ver como de atrás en el tiempo te puedes ir y como ha aguantado el paso de los siglos la creencia.
Read
October 2, 2008very interesting reading material on supernatural experiences.
July 27, 2018
Interesting read, but the title is somewhat misleading - it’s more about the astral ‘double’ and a bit of shamanism. Also, QUITE dry... the book literally put me to sleep a few times. ;)
April 7, 2024
Claude Lecouteux’s books are always enlightening (this is the fifth that I’ve read), offering a window into the origins of a lot of the motifs in our culture and fiction. I think he’s pretty well known for that at this point so I’ve never bothered to review on of his books before. But I had heard the assertion from a podcast that I enjoy that he “really believes this stuff” that he writes about, and I hadn’t encountered it in his work until this book. I’d love to know to what degree he thinks the phenomena that he describes persist into the modern day and in what guises, but the book doesn’t go into that other than a few anecdotes about survival of the traditions in certain places in Europe. Also as other reviews have pointed out, it’s a little disorganized; I unironically think a comparison chart of the various manifestations of these phenomena would have been helpful. But still, fascinating stuff!
August 14, 2021
This book is absolutely phenomenal. Don't let the title fool you: this book will forever change how you look at the histories and folktales of Europe. Honestly, it's changed my life outlook, and made me rethink everything -- especially NDEs where people talk about going out of their body in ER rooms, and seeing shoes on roofs or visiting home or hearing what doctors are saying when it should be impossible for them to hear anything (hint: it's all down to the Double or Fetch -- the original belief that spawned witches, werewolves, and ghosts). It definitely makes the Salem Witch Trials look more interesting! Only wish I'd read it sooner: definitely going to be reading more of Lecouteux's work. Highly recommended!!
June 20, 2018
This was an interesting read. It deals with the idea of the Double in Scandinavia in particular and Europe more generally. It explores many different folktales, historic accounts, and other writings to illustrate how we have held onto idea even now though we are less aware of it than our forebears.
The only thing that I don't think quite worked for this book is that in many places you feel as though you entered a conversation that has already been ongoing and you're not quite sure how it got started. Despite this it's an informative read and the topic is fantastic.
The only thing that I don't think quite worked for this book is that in many places you feel as though you entered a conversation that has already been ongoing and you're not quite sure how it got started. Despite this it's an informative read and the topic is fantastic.
March 16, 2022
As usual, Lecouteux is revelatory, taking understandings from Old Norse sagas to give us a radically different and more profound understanding of some of the common themes of European folklore, in this case through the theme of the "Double". I found this highly convincing for the witch's flight and for werewolves but rather less so for fairies, where only a small part of the fairy mythology is considered. And aren't fairies the Celtic equivalent of Germanic elves?
September 18, 2025
An interesting book on how ancient European pagan beliefs in multiple souls survived the passing of time, seen from the point of view of several cultures and time periods. Often, these beliefs were turned into something scary/evil by Christianity, like stories about werewolves and witch sabbaths. I liked reading the various stories and the authors explanations on the subject. I especially enjoyed the trial of the werewolf.
August 30, 2021
This book is one of those books were the title does not do it justice. The content is fantastic and only found here thanks to the author that has researched in resources of other languages that we do not usually pay attention to due to the language barrier. A study of how the spirit or double has manifested and been interpreted throughout ancient times.
July 14, 2023
I was barely into this book and thinking this isn't for me... Then the euphemism "as black as an Ethiopian" was used, with no racial context to the topic or relevancy to the situation. That made up my mind of, yeah I'm out.. lmao PASS!
February 27, 2020
Très bien étayé.
February 18, 2021
Muy interesante aunque un poco redundante en algunas cosas. Muy recomendado
June 15, 2023
Messy, poorly organized. Mediocre writing and a mediocre translation.
July 3, 2025
Un essai très enrichissant et interessant. J'ai trouvé que l'essai était vraiment bien développé et sourcé. En revanche j'ai trouvé qu'a certains moments l'auteur était assez flou.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews