Tales & Legends of the Devil by Claude & Corinne Lecouteux

Our study of folklore continues! Thus, I have read Tales & Legends of the Devil – The Many Guises of the Primal Shapeshifter by Claude & Corinne Lecouteux. The book contains stories involving the Devil, from all over Europe. The book is structured into seven chapters, which are the following:

Chapter I: The Devil as a Suitor
Chapter II: The Devil and His Family
Chapter III: The Swindled and Battered Devil
Chapter IV: In the Devil’s Service
Chapter V: A Visit to Hell
Chapter VI: The Devil and the Church
Chapter VII: Singular Tales

The stories are, as suggested by the titles of the chapters, sorted in themes.

The most interesting insights gained from reading all of the stories is that the Devil is not quite the fearsome Prince of Evil that one would except. Rather, he is usually presented as an archetypal Trickster God. Upon reading many of the stories, I was reminded of Gaunter O’Dimm, whom men of culture will have encountered when playing the masterpiece The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone. So, a powerful individual that tempts individuals into diabolic pacts – but still an entity that can be defeated by the wit or goodness of humans.

Many of the stories – especially those presented in Chapter III: The Swindled and Battered Devil – conclude with the human getting the better of the Devil.

A common theme in many of the stories is, as one may expect, that one who enters a pact with the Devil will benefit in the short terms but at a great cost later on.

At 209 pages, the book is a concise read and gives a good overview of the Devil in European folklore.