Oliver Pötzsch - The Werewolf of Bamberg

The bishop seemed to be thinking it over for a moment, but finally nodded his head. “Very well, good. Anything is better than this screaming. Sometimes it’s so loud it goes right through you. But one thing has to be clear.” He looked Simon up and down sharply. “It concerns medical confidentiality-or I will soon be pleased to hear your own screams, Master. . Tell me your name again.”

“Fronwieser,” Simon said quickly in a hoarse voice. “Simon Fronwieser.” He couldn’t quite choke out the words to support Samuel’s bold lie, elevating him to the status of certified physician. “You. . you can depend on me.”

“Very well. I see we understand each other.” The prince-bishop flashed a friendly smile. Then he pointed to the elderly gentleman at his side, who, like himself, was wearing ecclesiastical garb-no doubt the suffragan bishop. While Philipp Valentin Voit von Rieneck was in charge of both the worldly and spiritual administration in Bamberg, the suffragan bishop concerned himself only with affairs of the church. He had the tonsure of a monk and a piercing gaze that Simon could feel going straight through him.

“Well, my dear Master Samuel,” Philipp Rieneck continued, turning to the doctor as his face darkened. “There’s bad news. Suffragan Bishop Sebastian Harsee has just informed me of another gruesome find reported to His Excellency by well-informed friends in the city guard. Evidently an arm belonging to the missing city councilman Schwarzkontz has been found in the Bamberg Forest. Dreadful, isn’t it?” Rieneck shivered. “That old city councilman was always such a strong pillar in the house of God.”

“This same Lord God will watch over him,” Samuel replied. “Probably the poor man was torn to bits by wild animals in the forest.”

“Or something else,” the suffragan bishop interjected. His creaking voice reminded Simon of the crunching sound of rotted wood.

Samuel looked at Harsee in bewilderment. “Something else? What do you mean by that, Your Excellency?”

“As His Eminence has just indicated, this is not the first discovery of a severed body part,” Harsee replied sharply. “And missing persons cases are mounting. Apparently the wife of the apothecary has disappeared, as well. But that’s not all.” He continued in a whisper, “I have just learned that last night a large, furry creature was sighted in the city, walking on its hind legs. It is said to be as large as a man, with long, pointed teeth.”

“A furry creature with long, pointed teeth?” Samuel stared at him open-mouthed. “But-”

“One of the night watchmen saw it, and the brave man reported it to me just this morning,” Harsee interrupted. “There is no doubt.”

Prince-Bishop Philipp Rieneck, who was standing beside him, cleared his throat nervously. “I told the suffragan bishop that I think the entire matter is. . well, pure fantasy. Evidently the witness is an old drunkard. Unfortunately, the man told other people about it, and the rumor is now coursing through the taverns. The church fears unrest.”

“Rightly so,” Sebastian Harsee noted. He straightened up as if about to deliver a long sermon. “With the earlier reports of men and women who have vanished, and now these gruesome findings of severed body parts, I come to a grave, though logical, conclusion.”

“And what would that be?” Samuel asked hesitantly.

“Well. .” The suffragan bishop paused briefly for dramatic effect before continuing in a whisper, “It’s not out of the question that a werewolf is afoot in Bamberg.”

For a moment, the men remained silent, and all that could be heard was the splashing of water in the fountain.

“A werewolf?” Simon finally ventured. “But. . that’s pure nonsense.”

Then he bit his tongue. He hadn’t meant to speak out, but the suspicions of the suffragan bishop had completely flustered him.

Sebastian Harsee gave him an indignant look, as if he’d been disturbed by some hideous sound, then turned back to the Bamberg city medicus.

“The existence of werewolves has been proven. Ample proof is provided in that treatise used by the Inquisition, the Malleus Maleficarum - The Hammer of Witches -which cannot be praised highly enough. Not to mention in other books written by eminent scholars. There were many trials against magical creatures, especially in France, but also here in the German countries. The last of them took place in Landshut and Straubing just a few years ago.” Harsee’s voice began to rise and assumed a priestly tone. “Just like the witches, werewolves are evil ones who have entered into a pact with the devil; he gives them a mantle of wolf’s hide, transforming them into horrible, hairy beasts with a ravenous appetite for all living things. I have studied the scholarly treatises, and I’m certain that a werewolf is prowling the streets of our city.”

The prince-bishop had until then remained silent; he seemed to be struggling with his emotions. Finally, he cleared his throat. “I must admit that I’ve had my doubts, but now, as rumors are spreading and more and more people claim to have seen this beast-”

“This kind of thing is not uncommon,” Samuel interjected. “A person thinks they’ve seen something, and all of a sudden ten others are there to boast they’ve seen it as well. If we investigated every rumor, we’d probably not be able to save ourselves from all the witches, werewolves, and other magical creatures.”

“But what do you say about all the missing persons and the horribly dismembered bodies?” Philipp Rieneck shook his head. “I’m afraid I can no longer close my eyes to all this, even if I wanted to. People are becoming restless, and if this continues, I won’t be able to find beaters for my hunting trips, because no one will dare to go into the forest anymore.” He sighed. “Moreover, in just a few days, Johann Philipp von Schönborn-His Excellency the elector’s representative and the bishop of Würzburg-will be paying us a courtesy visit. He is one of the most powerful men in the Reich and a friend of the kaiser, and we cannot allow any unresolved horrible acts to mar this occasion. I have therefore decided, with great regret, to call together a commission to investigate these matters more closely.” Rieneck pointed to Harsee, who was standing alongside him, looking grim with his arms folded. “Suffragan Bishop Harsee will head the commission, and I would also like to have you join the group, Master Samuel. After all, everything needs to be scientifically verified. Bamberg cannot afford to be placed once again in a bad light.”

Simon had no idea what the prince-bishop meant by that last sentence. He cast a questioning look at Samuel, but Rieneck had already turned back to address the city physician. “I’d like to discuss a few details with you. Alone.” He glanced briefly at Simon. “Your friend will certainly be able to find his way out by himself.”

“Of course.” Simon bowed deeply and was about to hurry off when Samuel held him back.

“When this nonsense has passed, I’d be glad to have a glass of wine with you,” he whispered discreetly in Simon’s ear. “Let’s say tomorrow afternoon at my house?”

Simon nodded nearly imperceptibly, then headed toward the exit. When he turned around again, he saw Bishop Philipp Rieneck walking along the row of hedges with Samuel, in animated conversation.

Only the suffragan bishop was still standing in the same place, watching Simon suspiciously as if wondering if a short, brash doctor might be in truth a dastardly werewolf.

A few hours later, in a far less hospitable place, Adelheid Rinswieser, the wife of the apothecary, stared at the flickering wick of a small candle, which was about to go out. Her voice was hoarse from screaming, and her bones and muscles ached from the leather straps tying her to the bench. She could move only her right arm, and she used it to reach for an earthenware cup of water on the ground beside her, which she used to wet her fingers and moisten her lips.