The Cult of Saint Guinefort
This artistic project highlights the story of the 13th-century folk saint Guinefort—a greyhound wrongfully martyred yet venerated by his local community and renowned for his miraculous healing of children. His worship was suppressed but managed to continue in a smaller way across the centuries in remote chapels and pilgrimage practices. There are no extant works of art depicting the saint from the medieval ages. I seek to rectify that while at the same time opening a discourse around our relationship with dogs, our ideas of sainthood, and inviting reflections around the themes of sacrifice and justice, while resurrecting a suppressed belief system and reinserting it into history.
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The Myth
While preaching against divinatory practices, seeking out heresy, and taking confession from the lay population within the area of Sandrans, in the Dombes region of France, the Dominican Friar and Inquisitor Stephen of Bourbon reported numerous women confessing to him that they had taken their sickly children to Saint Guinefort looking for miraculous intervention.
Assuming the figure to be an obscure religious man of the region, his further investigation revealed that the folk saint was actually a greyhound that had been unjustly killed by his owner.
Afterwards, the people of the nearby villages had built a type of shrine to the greyhound and were seemingly worshipping it as a saint, claiming it to have miraculous abilities to heal sick children and, in the case of changelings, to return children to their mothers.
Below is a full account of the tale in his own words.
In the diocese of Lyons, near the enclosed nun’s village called Neuville, on the estate of the Lord of Villars, was a castle, the lord of which and his wife had a baby boy. One day, when the lord and lady had gone out of the house, and the nurse had done likewise, leaving the baby alone in the cradle, a huge serpent entered the house and approached the baby’s cradle.
Seeing this, the greyhound, which had remained behind, chased the serpent and, attacking it beneath the cradle, upset the cradle and bit the serpent all over, which defended itself, biting the dog equally severely.
Finally, the dog killed it and threw it well away from the cradle. The cradle, the floor, the dog’s mouth and head were all drenched in the serpent’s blood. Although badly hurt by the serpent, the dog remained on guard beside the cradle.
When the nurse came back and saw all this she thought that the dog had devoured the child, and let out a scream of misery. Hearing it the child’s mother also ran up, looked, thought the same thing and screamed too. Likewise the knight, when he arrived, thought the same thing and drew his sword and killed the dog.
Then, when they went closer to the baby they found it safe and sound, sleeping peacefully. Casting around for some explanation, they discovered the serpent, torn to pieces by the dog’s bites, and now dead. Realising then the true facts of the matter, and deeply regretting having unjustly killed so useful a dog they threw it into a well in front of the manor door, threw a great pile of stones on top of it, and planted trees beside it, in memory of the event.
Now, by divine will, the manor was abandoned by its inhabitants. But the peasants, hearing of the dog’s conduct and of how it had been killed, although innocent, and for a deed for which it might have expected praise, visited the place, honored the dog as a martyr, prayed to it when they were sick or in need of something, and many there fell victim to the enticements and illusions of the devil, who in this way used to lead men to error.*
Stephen’s further investigation uncovered an “old woman” living nearby, who would provide instruction to mothers and help them complete various rites aimed to heal their children or return them home.
These tasks included offerings of salt, burning candles, driving nails into trees, knotting the branches with clothing of the child, dunking the child in the waters of the nearby Chalaronne river, and passing it between two trees with the old woman nine times.
Acting with authority, Stephen had the grave excavated and the forest and remains burned. Finally, he passed an edict that sought harsh punishment for anyone returning to the cite.
However, remnants of the cult would survive the centuries and eventually a full consideration of the tale would be undertaken by Jean-Claude Schmitt in The Holy Greyhound: Guinefort, Healer of Children since the Thirteenth Century*.
The Inquisitor
The thirteenth century in Europe saw a time of economic and population growth that resulted in an expansion in the size of cities and towns, more commerce and wealth among the population, growth in literacy within the lay community, and an increase in critical thinking and political turbulence.
The result was a growing divide between the laity and the clerical population leading to the Church searching for solutions to their changing, and straying, population. One solution would be the creation and deployment of traveling inquisitors and preachers, with support from the Pope†.
It was into this changing religious environment that Stephen of Bourbon was born in what is now the commune of Belleville-en-Beaujolais (formerly Belleville) in eastern France about 1180.
He completed his initial religious education at the school of Saint Vincent in Mâcon, within the Burgundy region, and went on to further his studies in Paris around 1217*.
Sometime thereafter he would join the Dominican Order of Preachers, which was actively recruiting from the educated population, as evidenced in the writings of Jordan of Saxony – the Master of the order who would take over for Dominic within the same timeframe†.
Stephen completed his theological education and would eventually be made one of the first inquisitors (by Schmitt’s estimation, this would have happened around 1235, with Pope Gregory IX having approved the Dominican order to carry out inquisitorial duties in 1232*).
This office would have enabled Stephen to travel widely through the Rhône-Alps region, with a mission to seek out and correct instances of heresy amongst the flock while preacher against folk practices. It is in these travels that he came across the story of Guinefort, among many other strange tales – some interesting examples include one where a cat appeared at a Satanic ceremony to flick water from an underground cave on the assembly in a sort twisted type of Baptism†† and an early account of the female Pope Joan‡.
Before his death in 1262 at the monastery in Lyons, Stephen had begun his collection of exempla within his treatise on the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, although he would only end up completing five of them. The story of Guinefort appears in the section about the Holy Gift of Strength in a subsection addressing the sin of Superstition – a significant focus of the inquisitor.
Stephen of Bourbon’s work provides the primary source for the story of St. Guinefort, in addition to thousands of additional exempla providing a vital look into inquisition practices dating to the very beginning of the establishment of the office in the early 13th century. As scholarship continues into these documents it remains to be seen what strange tale will next arise from his experiences.
The Virgin Presenting the Rosary to Saint Dominic by Antonio Palermo‡‡.
In an odd synchronicity, dogs are heavily linked to the Dominican Order. Specifically, St. Dominic’s mother was said to have had a prophetic dream while pregnant that she would give birth to a dog carrying a flaming torch. This is known as the Domini Canis and is also a play on “Dominican”.
The Women
Two Witches and Magic Brew by Filippino Lippi§§.
In all cases, though, the old woman is clever and a mistress of deception: her main assets being her experience, verbal dexterity, and sometimes her magic arts.
-Karen Pratt, De Vetula: The Figure of the Old Woman in Medieval French Literature §
Within Stephen of Bourbon’s account is the mention of a vetula – a latin term that translates to “old woman” and was a pejorative often applied to those women outside of societal norms who were suspected of witchcraft. In the tale, this woman was responsible for instructing mothers on the rites required to return their true child to them. She assisted the mother with the lighting of candles, hanging of clothing, driving of nails, and of dunking them in the river.
This figures as described lines up with depictions of witchcraft in medieval Europe and reveal the long legacy of misogyny and fear of both women and pre-Christian belief systems that would permeate the concerns of the inquisitors for centuries to come. That such a figure is entwined with the Guinefort tale hints at a history that may be pre-Christian and reinforces Stephen’s condemnation of the practices at the site as superstitious.
Interestingly enough, Schmitt would discover in his research for The Holy Greyhound that a similar role was being filled in contemporary times as well. Known as ‘La Fanchette Gadin”, the people of Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne, one of the towns near the forest of Guinefort, had numerous reports of this figure and the unique role she played in the town*.
His research uncovered that the woman, whose actual name was Françoise Gudin, was an outsider in her community that would go begging to various houses around the neighborhood and attend church and complete on-foot pilgrimages to various religious sites in the area on behalf of others, who would pay her*.
Of those pilgrimages, one was indeed to the forest of Saint Guinefort. In a fitting book-end to the life, death, and legacy of the myth of Saint Guinefort, Schmitt brings us full circle by showcasing the similarities between the woman who would have helped mothers complete rites to help their sick children in the 1200’s, and an old widow who walked the pilgrimage to the cite on behalf of patrons until her death in the 1930’s.
The Work
After the Trés Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
The first piece in this series, this one differs from subsequent works as it is not designed to appear as if it had been taken from the source material but is instead heavily inspired by it.
Created between 1412-1416, the Trés Riches Heures was completed by the renowned Limbourg Brothers, Dutch miniaturists who completed many texts during their lifetime and were considered the top of their field.
Leveraging the color palette and symbolism of manuscript illumination this page features an apotheosis scene of St. Guinefort ascending from his well-tomb towards the heavens between two trees.
He holds the palm frond of martyrdom and the margins of the page feature creeping vines of hawthorn and oak. The marginalia includes a snake and a rabbit decked in armor for it’s own defense.
At the bottom of the page sit two babies grasping hands – one normal and the other a green changeling with horns.
The constellations in the sky include the dog star Sirius, which was associated with the saint.
Gouache and silver leaf on vellum paper, 10″ x 8″
From the Hours of Catherine of Cleves.
Housed within the Morgan Library in New York City, this two-part book of hours dating from around 1440 is one of the finest examples of illuminated suffrages of the saints.
Suffrages of the Saints included prayers for specific saints and could be customized to the desires of the patron having the work created.
Within this context, this piece explores what a suffrage from the text would look like recreating the style, colors, execution, and themes of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves.
Guinefort, in this iteration modeled after a greyhound from a vintage embroidery example of a greyhound sitting by an infant in a cradle, once again holds a martyr’s palm and shows the injury of his martyrdom.
The floor features crossed swords on the tile, referencing his martyrdom, and the background features roses and snakes entwining cups, a reference to the snake he killed.
The boarder design features a continuation of a narrative that threads through the entire Book of Hours. Folio 41 features a deathbed scene and subsequent folios 102, 107, and 109 features the widow beginning a pilgrimage. In this page the widow completes her pilgrimage and prays at the well of Guinefort.
Gouache, iron gall ink, gesso, gold leaf, and shell gold on vellum paper, 7.5″ x 5.18″
From the Hours of Henry VIII
Created in the 15th century by the French illuminator Jean Poyet, this work is also housed at the Morgan Library in NYC, along with the Hours of Catherine of Cleves.
The distinct visual styles of the suffrages within this book of hours feature scenes from the lives of saints paired with grisaille images that usually depict something related to their death or worship.
For this page featuring Saint Guinefort the top portion illustrates the moment where Guinefort defends the baby from the snake. The cradle is overturned and the distressed child lays on the floor while Guinefort attacks the serpent. The interior of the home is inspired by other interiors within the work and the design of the cradle was taken from other illuminated manuscripts of the similar time period.
Below, the scene featured shows the rite taking place at the well in which Guinefort was buried. A woman crouches in prayer while the vetula kneels beside her, holding her child. The surrounding woods feature clothing from other children and, in a nod to the pagan origins of the tale, a faun looks on from the shadows of a tree in the left margin.
The greyhound, pure white, is modeled after Vandeau, A White Greyhound a painting by John Frederick Herring.
Gouache, iron gall ink, and shell gold on vellum paper, 7.08″ x 5.04″
From the Edith Book of Hours
Housed at the Library of Congress, this book of hours is the smallest used as as source material so far at less than 3 inches high.
This work was produced in the French court of King Charles in the 14th century, sometime in the 1300’s.
This diminutive work features full page illustrations of various saints. The work has been attributed to the Master of the Coronation Book of Charles and also to the Le Noir family, with no concrete identification.
This piece features a border similar to the other pages with a triumphant Guinefort sitting with a slain snake.
The model for this Guinefort is Boo, the first enrolled participant in the STAY clinical trial to extend the life of dogs.
Gouache, iron gall ink, and shell gold on vellum paper, 2.625″ x 1.875″
From the Belle Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry
Currently held within The Cloisters in New York City, this book of Hours is similar to the first one influencing this series in that it was produced for Jean, Duc de Berry and that it was created by the renowned Limbourg brothers – and in fact pre-dates the Trés Riches Heures by a handful of years.
It differs from the other text, however, in that it features an extensive suffrage section that can be drawn upon for the inclusion of Saint Guinefort.
Foregoing the earlier pages that lean more heavily on visual enhancements, this piece is an exercise in calligraphy, raised illumination, and decorative restraint.
The page includes a full latin prayer to Guinefort that is adapted based upon similar prayers within suffrages.
The illustration of the knight beheading his dog is directly inspired by the depictions within the text of saints George and Denis.
The greyhound is modeled after Cerberus from the 2004 Irish film Man About Dog.
Gouache, iron gall ink, gesso, gold leaf, and shell gold on vellum paper, 9.36″ x 6.7″
From the Black Hours of Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Currently housed in the Austrian National Library, there is not a lot of online resources available for this work for study, however it is one of a few ‘black hours’ that were created in the Burgundian Court. It was likely produced between 1466-77.
Black hours were distinct in that they featured dyed black parchment that highlighted the brightness of the pigments and the luminosity of the gold and silver used in their creation.
This page highlights an apocryphal tale of Guinefort participating in a unicorn hunt – a theme that was popular in medieval times for both it’s secular and religious symbolism.
There is no reference of Guinefort participating in a unicorn hunt, but the overlap of themes of dog ownership amongst the nobility, religious symbolism of the unicorn, and the hunting practices of knights and dogs was too tempting to pass up.
This Guinefort is based upon Bashaw, a faithful Newfoundland owned by Lord Dudley and painstakingly sculpted in stone by Matthew Cotes Wyatt. Currently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum, his sculpture importantly includes a bronze cobra that has been felled by the courageous hound.
Gouache, gesso, and shell gold on Fabriano black block, 7.1″ x 4.9″
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The Sources
*Schmitt, Jean Claude. The Holy Greyhound: Guinefort, Healer of Children since the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
**de Bourbon, Stephen. “Medieval Sourcebook: Stephen de Bourbon (d. 1262): De Supersticione: On St. Guinefort.” Internet History Sourcebooks: Medieval Sourcebook, 1262, sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/guinefort.asp.
†Lawrence, C.H. Medieval Monasticism. Longman Press, 2001.
††Van-Helmont, Joannis-Baptiste. “Le Vrai Vincent de Beauvais, Le Faux Vincent de Beauvais.” Le Journal Des Sçavans, 30 July 1708, pp. 486–491.
‡ “Pope Joan.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 8 July 2024, www.britannica.com/topic/Pope-Joan#ref178499.
‡‡ Palomino, Antonio. The Virgin Presenting the Rosary to Saint Dominic. Artstor, www.Jstor.Org/Stable/Community.14713537, 1679, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington.
§ Pratt, Karen. “De Vetula: The Figure of the Old Woman in Medieval French Literature.” Old Age in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: Interdisciplinary Approaches to a Neglected Topic, De Gruyter, 2012, pp. 321–342.
§§ Lippi, Filippino. Two Witches and Magic Brew. Archive for Research on Archetypal Symbolism, Aras.Org, Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
Work Two: John Plummer. The Hours of Catherine of Cleves. George Braziller, 1975.
Film stills: Schiffman, Suzanne and Pamela Berger, directors. Le Moine et La Sorcière. Bleu Productions, 1987, https://watch.plex.tv/movie/sorceress-1987. Accessed 2024.
Woodcuts from the first section: Anonymous Artists. The Dog Attacks the Snake That Overturned the Cradle and The Knight Decapitated the Dog. circa 1483. The Illustrated Bartsch. Artstor, JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.12371938. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.
All work © Caitlin Fitzgerald 2024