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Nashoba-Hostina — Eldritch: Lineage 045

Published: 2013-05-01 04:01:49 +0000 UTC; Views: 11400; Favourites: 132; Downloads: 0
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Description Next: [link]

Previous: [link]

The Cover to Eldritch: Lineage [link]

Chapter One Changes: [link]

Chapter Two Layline: [link]

Chapter Three Lessons: [link]

Chapter Four Halloween: [link]

So… now that this chapter is finally starting its slow wrap up, I’m gonna have a nice sit-down and briefly talk to you guys about the Hounds of God/’Benandanti’ werewolves. I didn’t want to bend your ears too terribly earlier, since, well, your ears were being bent enough by Mr. Oppressive. Since this is just an artist’s comment, not a term paper, this of course won’t include every scrap of information available; that’s for you to research. But I figure it’ll let you folks know a bit about where I’m coming from and why I made some of the decisions I did regarding this comic.

As I mentioned earlier, when I first heard of a particular group of good werewolves, it was from a not-well-cited source… in a metaphysical book. (The Magic of Shapeshifting, by Rosalyn Greene, if you must know. Please don’t judge me.) I rolled my eyes and figured it was just something the author had made up, and, since I was an ignorant, idiotic little creature who had done some research and thus assumed I knew everything. I disregarded it at the time. However, then, to my surprise, I came across the same thing a few years later.

If I recall correctly, the first place where I rediscovered these good lycanthropes was in a (at the time) brand-new book called Werewolves By Nigel Suckling. In this book there is a little section on “The Benandanti Wolves” that described good werewolves that battled for the wellbeing of the crops and fought with iron bars. I knew that I wanted to do something with this, but not what exactly… Unfortunately, the book opens with a quote from publisher Sir Willam Collins reading “A book without a mistake in it has had too much money spent on it.” While this probably was a comment on any possible grammatical errors, it put a certain grain of doubt in my mind regarding the merit of the book as a primary source. However, it was a start, and that was all I needed to begin looking for more.

It wasn’t long before I found information in a copy of Witches, Werewolves and Fairies by Claude Lecouteux. It was a goldmine of information for me, though it surprised me. In this book, there were no “Benandanti Wolves” But rather, it described two different, yet remarkably similar events. Two groups, one in Italy and one in Livonia ([link] [link] a historic Baltic area that I am admittedly rather unfamiliar with and need to research further, but seems to include a chunk of modern-day Lithuania. [link] . Because of this, while most of my sources place Theiss and his kind Livonia, some say Lithuania.) The Italian crowd, the Benandanti, were a group of spiritual warriors, who could, among other things, leave their bodies in the form of small animals and fought for the crops (this is a rather oversimplified description). Meanwhile, I found a detailed record of the trial of Livonain werewolf Theiss, who also spoke of German and Russian werewolves who engaged in activates similar to him and his comrades… That is, he and his kind traveled to hell to fight with the devil for the crops. So, I thought, I was dealing with two entirely separate, but curiously similar things.

Around the same time, I first saw a book that had actually come out a year prior to Suckling’s work… Rosemary Guiely’s Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves and Other Monsters. It contained very similar information to his work, including the use of Iron bars as weapons, but rather than calling these werewolves “Benandanti wolves,” they were called The Hounds of God (though it was explained that they shared characteristics with the Benandanti.)

Now, enter author Carlo Ginzburg and his work The Night Battles (otherwise known as “I Benandanti.”) It discussed at length the various exploits of the Benandanti, and their work against the witches and Melandanti, as well as their various methods of battle and their weapons, including fennel stalks (which, I may note, showed up in the seventh page of the first chapter of this comic. I plan stuff way ahead.) This is a book that I had thought at the time was going to be strictly about the Italian Benandanti, when, to my surprise, good Ol Theiss of Livonia/Lithuania made a little appearance there as well, and he called himself one of the “Hounds of God.” The author, of course, did not call Theiss a Benandanti, since that was an Italian phenomenon, however, the connections between the two and shamanic practices were drawn. In addition, it was there that I learned that in some cases, the Benandanti (as well as witches) were said to ride various animals, including dogs, into battle. The canine connection there, combined with Theiss’s Hounds of God statement, well… it got my brain working a tad…

Then there is Adam Douglas’ The Beast Within which also makes note of Ginzburg’s work. In it is a theory that the Benandanti were not merely a local phenomenon, but were perhaps the westernmost protrusion of eastern influences. So, I thought, if such an event were to have happened, unlikely as it may seem… It is possible that the Benandanti themselves came from the lycanthropic traditions of the Germans and Russians mentioned by Theiss, linking them back together as a continuation, spread, and evolution of one set of folk beliefs, that divided into various localized practices while retaining its basic ideas and principles.

But, well, surely those mentioned above were the only similarities, correct? Well… maybe not. In Ginzburg’s work, it mentioned that some Benandanti were called to their spiritual duties by an angel. Montague Summers’ work, currently published as The Werewolf in Lore and Legend describes an event in Livonia in which a crippled boy summons folks around Christmastime, at which point, those who follow him are then turned into wolves for an extended amount of time. Curiously enough, Theiss said that some of his lycanthropic exploits took place on the eve of Saint Lucy… the 13th of December. The dates don’t match exactly, sure… but they’re close enough to catch my attention, and close enough to note the similarity, especially given the summons by a being that would generally be considered as good or at the very least harmless in appearance. Furthermore, Summer’s work describes the werewolves being flogged with a whips knotted with iron… which is a curious reversal of what is written in Ginzburg’s work, which describes the Hounds of God perusing the devil and attacking him with whips of iron. While there is no definitive proof that the Livonian werewolves in Summer’s book are the same as those in Ginzburg’s… there are some links here. In addition, given Summer’s position as a reverend, it could be possible that the concept of good werewolves made him uncomfortable, so he tweaked the story to suit his own beliefs, turning good werewolves into bad ones, or, the option that I prefer, that he simply misunderstood.

As time passed, imagine my surprise when I then stumbled across a book from my childhood A Lycanthropy Reader which was edited by Charolette Otten, and Theiss, referred to as the “Good Werewolf of Lithuania” was mentioned briefly in the notes. In addition, previously, while researching the Greek God Apollo, Theiss had once again shown up. In Apollo, the Wolf-God Daniel E. Gershenson spent some time musing over the werewolf confraternities like that which Theiss belonged to, and its connection with agriculture. He made note of his loyalty to his particular group of werewolves, which I had been finding kind of cultish. This got me to thinking about what sort of social structure such a group might have today, especially if, as implied above, they were connected along a wide space, including Italy, and the wolf-linked city of Rome, where the heart of the Catholic Church is.

I’m sure that by now you can see where some of the various aspects of this comic came from, and I continued research well into the start of Eldritch. I find that as time progresses, the connection between the Benandanti and werewolves is being drawn even more, with ‘Benandanti’ being used as a descriptive term indicating a particular, shall we say, formula of belief rather than the actual Benandanti of the Firuli region of Italy. The, well, not-terribly accurate 2009 book The Complete Idiot’s Guide: Werewolves By Nathan Brown flat-out calls Theiss a Benandanti werewolf, and a less-than perfect resource, yet one I still enjoy greatly, The Werewolf Handbook from 2010 has a small section on what it calls “Benandanti Werewolves.” The 2011 book Werewolves By Zachary Graves also has a section on The Hounds of God, referring to Theiss as “a werewolf of the Benandanti kind” and later referenced a group of “Benandanti werewolves” in 1610.

There could be plenty of good arguments made on either side about the validity of such a term as “Benandanti Werewolf” in a scholarly context (As opposed to a fictional context as seen in this comic.) However, given this trend, it seems that Benandanti Werewolf is a term that will continue to stick around in nonfiction werewolf works, inaccurate as it may or may not be. One only needs to look at the odd myths that imply that a werewolf becomes a vampire when it dies, or the numerous meanings or the variations of the French term loup garou to see that this kind of confusion is not unheard of in werewolf lore, and likely will continue into the future.

I’d like to end this by noting that in an odd twist of irony, sitting next to me as I write is a 2010 book titled simply Werewolves by Konstantanos. It was published by Llewellyn, a company known for its metaphysical publishings. And yes. It also briefly mentions Theiss, and the Benandanti. I suppose it’s just a little jab at my younger self, reminding my current self not to be closed minded, or to utterly disregard interesting information and fail to actively research further just because I think it’s wrong, or because the source isn’t perfect. It just means that I need to remember that I will never, ever know everything, and more work will always have to be done to discover what the facts are, if there are any to be had… because, you never know what wonderful ideas you may get from doing a little hard work and research.



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Discretion is advised. Eldritch is for mature audiences, and will contain violence, gore, and mild nudity, along with adult situations, themes, and language. Some pages will be marked as such on sites such as Deviantart and may be unavailable to minors. The author takes no responsibility for anything unsavory anyone, may think, do or say should a parent or guardian let them read this comic.

The author (SMG Nashoba Hostina ) has everything planned out, and if something does not immediately make sense, it will later. If there are questions about what will happen, answers will not be given until the issues come up in the natural course of the plot. Furthermore, if something is “Wrong” it is often because some mistakes are intentional, to allow the pages of the webcomic and the eventually published version of the comic to be easily distinguished.

In addition, the author has done a lot of work and research and has a lot scripted and planned. This means that ‘requested storylines’ and suggestions have no place in this comic whatsoever. It is the author’s policy to decline all such submissions. This policy is intended to prevent any misunderstandings regarding intellectual property rights.

In short, do NOT send requests, share ideas with, or make suggestions to the author at any time, in print or otherwise.

However, in the event that you ignore what is written above and insist on making requests, suggestions or sharing ideas in any way whatsoever regarding this comic: be aware that in doing so you are giving the artist this idea, along with non-exclusive, royalty and compensation-free rights to utilize, reproduce, sell, disclose, and distribute the suggested content in any form and at any time she sees fit, in the comic or otherwise.

Although, the Author generally tries to avoid being exposed to such unsolicited suggestions, and once a note, conversation, or other means of communication swings that way, she makes all attempts to remove herself from the situation. Please do not be offended should the author not read your letter in its entirety because of this. However, should the author’s content in any way resemble that of a suggestion or other form of content, unless it is credited in the artist’s comments, the similarities are purely coincidental.

Eldritch and all of its specifics are © Nashoba Hostina, and is not in any way Public Domain. Thus, Eldritch is not an “Open Source” world any more so than Star Trek or Lord of the Rings is. However, regarding fanart, fanfiction, and such: The author is always flattered when folks take the time to draw a picture of one of her characters for her. However, if you choose to do fanart, please, make it clear that the characters, world, etcetera are Nashoba Hostina’s creation, and kindly link back here, or to the comic’s blog. Then, whenever you post Fanart of Eldritch, please let the artist know! Under no circumstances should any content derived from or inspired by Eldritch be used for financial or material gain of any sort, or to spread messages of hate in any way. No fan-made work is ever to be considered canon.

Eldritch, in part or in whole is not to be distributed without the author’s permission. Should permission be granted for the redistribution of any part of her comic, the use of her work is never to be used for financial or material gain of any sort, or to spread messages of hate in any way. The author reserves the right to insert additional requirements that must be adhered to at any time, both before and after the posting of any such content, and may withdraw permission to use her content at any time. The only places where this comic will be found in its entirety will be its blog: [link] or here on the author’s deviantart page.

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This comic is free for anyone to view, so the author must have a day job to support herself. It takes supplies and LOTS of time to make Eldritch, so she cannot afford to do art all the time. Thus, Eldritch is done on the author’s free time, which means page quality will vary. In addition, updates may be missed if the author has a busy week or becomes ill. Should an update be missed, it will be at least a full week before more content will be posted. The author apologizes for the inconvenience.

The Author is not liable to you, nor to any party claiming through you for any aggrievance real or perceived that you may experience as a result of reading the comic, or these terms and conditions.

The author apologizes for the length of this dreadfully boring disclaimer/ terms of readership. However, making a comic is hazardous and downright scary, and she is just trying to protect herself.

This disclaimer and all prior forms of it are subject to retroactive change.

And, finally… If you don’t like the comic, don’t read it! No one’s forcing you to look at this :3 Go outside and play or something!

Thank you for reading!

Are you not quite Human? That's okay, that means you're a lot like the rest of us. So, if you're one of the Eldritch Folk, here's a stamp for you to use with the thumbnail feature:
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Comments: 82

Grassy-Aggron [2013-08-24 01:16:52 +0000 UTC]

This is a beautiful picture.  You caught winter in all its quiet, crisp glory :3

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to Grassy-Aggron [2013-08-26 06:09:21 +0000 UTC]

Thanks so much!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

ucfgirl123 [2013-06-12 22:38:23 +0000 UTC]

umm... if you dont mind can you give some tips for how you make your trees so amazing..? :/ im struggling in making a book cover...

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

LunaWolf4 [2013-05-14 21:49:21 +0000 UTC]

FREEEEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to LunaWolf4 [2013-05-16 03:54:36 +0000 UTC]

Yep!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

LunaWolf4 In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-16 21:57:21 +0000 UTC]

x3

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

crescentwolf01 [2013-05-08 16:21:46 +0000 UTC]

where's the next page it's Wednesday already 0.o

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to crescentwolf01 [2013-05-08 19:34:33 +0000 UTC]

The next page is half-finished because I was away all weekend, had work to do, and have been sick. I'm trying as hard as I can.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

crescentwolf01 In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-09 09:19:32 +0000 UTC]

I was just wondering is all ^^, anyway get well soon ^^

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

somerandomplayer [2013-05-04 04:32:13 +0000 UTC]

*looks back at page 7* Is that what those are then? I recall the fennel she explored in Lessons. And the iron bars she used in Halloween and were reminded about in this chapter. Lineage seems to be the chapter that really shows how much planning you've done with Eldritch.

I think you've blurred the line between artist comment and term paper. People have written books on the subject, and you certainly own a lot of books. You probably have enough information to produce your own.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to somerandomplayer [2013-05-09 00:37:27 +0000 UTC]

Yes, it is; she recognized them in Lessons.

I hope to write a werewolf book sometime; I've been working on it slowly. Eldritch tends to get in the way of that though.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

somerandomplayer In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-09 04:12:16 +0000 UTC]

I'm looking forward to your book. I know I've mentioned it several times, but as much as I love Eldritch, I would forgive you for working on other werewolf things.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Chronusphoenix [2013-05-02 04:15:49 +0000 UTC]

Hizzah, freedom at last

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to Chronusphoenix [2013-05-09 00:36:06 +0000 UTC]

Huzzah indeed!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Siochanna [2013-05-02 03:55:22 +0000 UTC]

(The Magic of Shapeshifting, by Rosalyn Greene, if you must know. Please don’t judge me.)

I found this comment amusing. Is the book really that bad?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to Siochanna [2013-05-09 00:38:25 +0000 UTC]

It is an interesting read, if not unintentionally humorous.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Siochanna In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-09 01:02:41 +0000 UTC]

I may try to pick it up, then, since it provokes such a strong reaction

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

DolphinSilverwolf [2013-05-02 02:16:06 +0000 UTC]

She ought to leave the Benedanti a gift for their hospitality. Maybe a satchel charge?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to DolphinSilverwolf [2013-05-09 00:38:52 +0000 UTC]

Eh, Santa'll figure out what they ought to get for Christmas XD

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DolphinSilverwolf In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-09 02:00:41 +0000 UTC]

An armed nuclear device with the timer ticking down?

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

chirohito [2013-05-02 01:37:54 +0000 UTC]

Whoa whoa whoa, hold up- Rome! Where did you go...
Haha, just kidding. So it was a lie then? Or am i just jumping to conclusions and am thinking it can't snow in Rome.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to chirohito [2013-05-09 00:40:27 +0000 UTC]

It can indeed snow in Rome. Have some photos: [link]

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

chirohito In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-11 00:20:21 +0000 UTC]

hm...i'm thinking...
thinking...
thinking...

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

jeffryD [2013-05-01 22:17:09 +0000 UTC]

finally fresh air that must feel good and it's a beautiful full moon.
I wonder who lives in that house.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to jeffryD [2013-05-09 00:40:54 +0000 UTC]

The three little pigs live there.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Scealai-Storyteller [2013-05-01 21:00:22 +0000 UTC]

Wow, this is a stunning image. I think you capture moonlight on the snow,on of my favorite images, beautifully. I also found your author's notes on the Benandanit werewolves very interesting. I'm somewhat familiar with the lore and have used them in my writing also. Though I find the more I learn the more I learn how much more I have to learn.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to Scealai-Storyteller [2013-05-09 00:42:19 +0000 UTC]

Awwww, gosh, thank you!

And man, that sure is the truth... it's kind of exciting though, I think.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Scealai-Storyteller In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-11 13:20:20 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome. It really is a gorgeous image.

And I agree, it's part of what makes like worth living.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

RaptorArts [2013-05-01 20:36:10 +0000 UTC]

This really needs to be a physical illustrated novel or comic so we can all buy one and have it on our shelves

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to RaptorArts [2013-05-09 00:41:30 +0000 UTC]

I hope to publish it after it's finished... that way people can know what they're getting before purchasing it... like a test-drive, if you will.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RaptorArts In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-09 05:35:47 +0000 UTC]

One hell of a test drive. XD

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

LUWOLVESCAS [2013-05-01 20:15:38 +0000 UTC]

FINAAAAALY! BEST BREAKOUT EVERRRRRR! yiiiiiiii

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to LUWOLVESCAS [2013-05-09 00:41:39 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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LUWOLVESCAS In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-09 06:19:32 +0000 UTC]

yiii

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svejdal06 [2013-05-01 16:29:38 +0000 UTC]

Finally free couldn't be a better background she came out to

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to svejdal06 [2013-05-09 00:42:28 +0000 UTC]

Awww, thanks!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Wolfsjal [2013-05-01 15:02:33 +0000 UTC]

*cheers for Faith*

I enjoyed reading about your research, too. :3

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to Wolfsjal [2013-05-09 00:42:41 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for trudging through that, hon XD

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

buggerbug50 [2013-05-01 14:43:38 +0000 UTC]

Wow, I just read the terms again. Longest, but only terms I've bothered to read completely. WOW. XD
But finally she made it outside *-*

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to buggerbug50 [2013-05-09 00:42:52 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for reading them!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

buggerbug50 In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-09 01:00:26 +0000 UTC]

No problem XD

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Kerl-of-Fox-County [2013-05-01 13:19:35 +0000 UTC]

"And then.." This
No words needed. Just a beautiful image. Superb!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to Kerl-of-Fox-County [2013-05-09 00:43:02 +0000 UTC]

Awwww, thanks!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Kerl-of-Fox-County In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-23 18:09:21 +0000 UTC]

You're most welcome, as always

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Zoanders [2013-05-01 12:02:03 +0000 UTC]

Finally! o:
I really hoped for her to escape soon.
And cool picture by the way, I can feel the atmosphere.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to Zoanders [2013-05-09 00:43:21 +0000 UTC]

Man, me too ;3

Thanks so very much!

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Antaria-Nova [2013-05-01 10:55:11 +0000 UTC]

She has escaped! (for the moment)
And she looks rather happy about it, too.

Quite a bit of research you've done, apparently. Maybe you could write your own book on the subject?
Would perhaps be quite comprehensive.
Best of luck with any further research you might undertake.

And as usual, waiting with no small degree of anticipation for the next page.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Nashoba-Hostina In reply to Antaria-Nova [2013-05-09 00:44:23 +0000 UTC]

I've been working on a werewolf book for a while, but Eldritch sucks up so much of my time, so it's slow going.

Thank you!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Antaria-Nova In reply to Nashoba-Hostina [2013-05-09 10:03:59 +0000 UTC]

Ah, nice.

Best of luck with it.

And you're most welcome, as always.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

ucfgirl123 [2013-05-01 10:32:27 +0000 UTC]

omg *.* its so beautiful! excellent job

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