Antedating of "Vampire" (by another 3 days)

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Mon Apr 22 13:23:15 UTC 2013


In December 2003 I submitted to Jesse (but did not post on ADS-L) the
same article, from The Weekly Rehearsal (Boston), 1732 June 5,
knowing that it surely would be in some London newspaper 3 or 4
months earlier, depending on Continental Alpine weather (the article
is datelined Hungary, Jan. 7).  At that time I was using EAI, but did
not know about Burney Collection Newspapers (or perhaps it didn't
exist then).  Fred has found a British source (but may or may not
remember that he and I discussed the Boston article in 2007, and that
there was earlier discussion on C18-L, in May 2005).

The case of Arnold Paul is well known by vampyrologists (e.g. Melinda
K Hayes), who had found a slightly earlier article, in The London
Journal, Saturday March 13, 1731/32.

The Boston article attaches "a true Copy of a Relation attested by
unexceptionable Witnesses, and sent to the Imperial Council of War",
from Medreyga in Hungary, dated January 1732.  The Internet has, in
German, the Imperial source, the "Report of the medical man [medicus]
Glaser" of the investigation of December 12, 1731, at "Metwett an der
Morawa".  See Wikipedia, "Arnold Paole", and
http://www.paranormal.de/vampir/quelleb.html and
http://www.paranormal.de/vampir/quellee.html.  (As I remember, there
are some inconsistencies in the documents' dates -- December 1732
appears in some places.)

P.S.  Some may be interested in the title "Heyduke" (or "Heyduck"),
and Bach and the "heyducken" dance.

P.P.S.  Noting Fred's two earlier, consecutive messages, I will
forever visualize zombees throwing and catching frisbees, while
vampires await a bloody accident.

Joel

At 4/21/2013 09:02 PM, Shapiro, Fred wrote:
>vampire (OED 1734)
>
>1732 _Grub Street Journal_ 16 Mar. (17th-18th Century Burney
>Collection Newspapers)  _Medreyga_ in _Hungary_, Jan. 7, 1732.  Upon
>a current report, that in the village of Medreyga certain dead
>bodies (called here _Vampyres_) had killed several persons by
>sucking out all their blood, the present enquiry was made by the
>Honourable Commander in Chief ... about 5 years ago a certain
>Heyduke, named Arnold Paul, was killed by the overturning of a cart
>load of hay, who in his life-time was often heard to say, that he
>had been tormented near Caschaw, and upon the borders of Turkish
>Servia, by a _Vampyre_.
>
>Fred Shapiro

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