Bamberg calf boy

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The Bamberg calf boy was a wild child , also known as the wolf child , who probably lived in Bamberg in the 16th century .

The only mention comes from the universal scholar Philipp Camerarius in his Operae Horarum Subcisivarum, Sive Meditationes Historicae from the year 1591 under chapter 75 with the title "About the amazing mobility of some people". Here Camerarius writes from a first-person perspective ("I would have preferred to keep it quiet if I hadn't seen it personally (...)") and reports on a young man at the court of the Prince of Bamberg, who, according to his own statements, lives in the surrounding mountains was raised by cattle (lat. "pecora"). Although the text does not explicitly mention that he grew up with cows, the Latin word for cattle and cattle is the same, which is why it can be assumed that it was meant.  

According to the description, the Bamberg calf boy moved on four legs (“What was more, it was astonishing about him that he showed his agility not with an erect body, but like a quadruped”). A dwarf by the name of Martinertus is said to have lived at the farm, who sometimes mounted the wild child like a horse and rode it. Furthermore, he fought with the dogs at the royal court and always emerged victorious from the fights, even against the strong English mastiffs . He could also make monkey-like movements when moving in the higher corners of the rooms. Generally he was attested to have a strong, rural body. From the only short report about the wolf child it emerges that it is said to have even married later.

As with other cases of wild children, the number of sources is limited to one, in this case Camerarius.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Camerarius, Philipp: Operae Horarum Subcisivarum, Sive Meditationes Historicae. - Frankfurt (Main), 1602-1609. Accessed January 31, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Hansjörg Bruland: Wild children in the early modern age . Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-515-09154-1 , p. 15 .
  3. ^ PJ Blumenthal: Kaspar Hauser's siblings . Piper Verlag GmbH, March 2005.
personal data
SURNAME Bamberg calf boy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Wolf child
DATE OF BIRTH 16th Century
DATE OF DEATH 16th century or 17th century