The Time a Dog (Almost) Became a Catholic Saint: The Tale of Guinefort

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  • čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
  • Everybody loves dogs, but have you ever prayed to one? Join me as we explore the curious case of “Saint” Guinefort, the enigmatic (and apparently charismatic) 13th Century French greyhound.
    If you would like to see more videos from me, please consider supporting my channel on Patreon:
    / cardinalwest
    and follow me on Twitter for updates:
    / cardinal_west
    For those interested in another unique animal character from the Middle Ages, I recommend checking out my video on Reynard the Fox, the archetypal trickster of medieval European folklore:
    • The Ancient Trickster ...
    My debut novel, Winter Without End, is now available for purchase from Fenris Publishing in both ebook and paperback format:
    www.fenrispublishing.com/winter
    A post-apocalyptic story told through the eyes of a dog, Winter Without End follows a Labrador retriever who, after being abandoned by his human family in the aftermath of a devastating pandemic, makes an uneasy alliance with a wounded wolf in order to survive.
    Additionally, one of my stories, “Mark of the Stranger,” was recently published in the anthropomorphic history anthology “When the World Was Young,” available here:
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Komentáře • 116

  • @purplehaze2358
    @purplehaze2358 Před rokem +65

    To be entirely fair, all dogs are saints so far as I'm concerned.

  • @jeniskindof
    @jeniskindof Před rokem +16

    I like to believe the dog actually did become a saint and when all the people who denied his sainthood died and went to heaven they were in complete shock to see him sitting next to God getting head pats from him

    • @nathanielus5296
      @nathanielus5296 Před rokem

      Sorry to break you off, but animals don't really have rational and immortal souls as humans have in Catholic theology

  • @MrBulbasaurlover
    @MrBulbasaurlover Před rokem +37

    As a Catholic I appreciate the respect you paid to the material but still being able to inject it with humour.

  • @jaceladag
    @jaceladag Před rokem +13

    EEEEEY! ST GUINEFORT! Illegal saints are my favorite thing ever, and this good boy even more. Gonna share this on my Tumblr for Dog Saint Monday.

  • @RainWelsh
    @RainWelsh Před rokem +9

    14:00 glad you mentioned Gelert, as someone who grew up being royally pissed off at Llywelyn Fawr for killing The Ultimate Good Boy, I got some serious deja vu from the tale of Guinefort.
    I suppose at least this time the Welsh myth was reproduced faithfully, nobody stuck their wife-stealing OCs into it or anything.

  • @caitlinsnowfrost8244
    @caitlinsnowfrost8244 Před rokem +82

    Folk saints are such a cool cultural thing! My favorite is Catherine of Aragon (and I hope she gets canonized for real someday) but I didn't know a lot about "Saint" Guinefort going in, so this was a fascinating ride! At the risk of sounding cliche, he sounds like a very good boy.

    • @krankarvolund7771
      @krankarvolund7771 Před rokem +8

      It would've been a power move from the church to say "You form your own church to divorce your wife? Okay, we canonize your ex" XD

    • @caitlinsnowfrost8244
      @caitlinsnowfrost8244 Před rokem +5

      @@krankarvolund7771 Make her the patron saint of marriage counselors for extra bonus points!
      But FR if Thomas More can get canonized for saying "hey henry maybe don't divorce your wife" and then getting his head chopped off for it (a gross oversimplification but I digress), I feel like Catherine's earned her right to be canonized for saying "Hey, you can't divorce me, our marriage is 100% valid" and then getting dismissed from court and banned from ever seeing her daughter again.

    • @krankarvolund7771
      @krankarvolund7771 Před rokem +3

      @@caitlinsnowfrost8244 The main difference being that Thomas Moore was a man and a clergy member, Catherine was a woman :D

    • @caitlinsnowfrost8244
      @caitlinsnowfrost8244 Před rokem +2

      ​@@krankarvolund7771 Very true, but women have definitely been made saints for less grandiose acts!

    • @celestialogian1183
      @celestialogian1183 Před rokem +1

      @@krankarvolund7771 Thomas More (not to be confused with Thomas Moore) was a civil lawyer, and not a member of the clergy. Were you perhaps mixing him up with John Fisher?

  • @vulpecula297
    @vulpecula297 Před rokem +15

    Always a good day when a new Cardinal West video pops up.
    Instructions unclear, placed a baby under a dog to cure my depression.

  • @CompleteAnimation
    @CompleteAnimation Před rokem +44

    I finally finished reading Winter Without End. Overall, I liked it! I kind of wish Sierra had more dialogue, but it makes sense that wolves just aren't much for idle chatter. In my mind's eye, I imagined the scenes looking like a classic animated film. It made me wonder what it would be like if some studio actually made an adaptation. I bet Cartoon Saloon could do a good job of it, if they were ever so inclined!

    • @EmberWolfsArt
      @EmberWolfsArt Před rokem +2

      OMG yes: Cartoon Saloon would be perfect! The book is amazing- one of the best i ever read with the same feel as Call of the wild and Watership Down or Animals of farthing wood.

  • @midshipman8654
    @midshipman8654 Před rokem +14

    another really interesting video that specifically goes into how animals were seen in medieval life and how that changed is historia civilis’s video on animal trials. and how animals were put on trial since at least the ancient greeks and how domesticated animals were seen as part of the wider commune, had moral agency, and could be judged for wrongdoings like people, in a cosmic idea of due. and this was somerhing that lasted into the medieval era. Where there was even an interesting idea of “ecclesiastical” and “secular” animal crimes.
    where livestock were considered to fall under the community and thus went under secular law in case of a stampede or some other percieved wrongdoing, while wild animals went under ecclesiastical court proceedings as “acts of god/the devil” outside of the community.
    so while the “object” view isnt wrong, there seems to be a broader sense of “cosmic order and duty”. and in fact, a more clinical depersonalization occured with the enlightenment where this sort of classification seemed superstitious and a conception of animals demoralized as “machines that only follow the disposition of their organs” came more into vogue, with them considered to be more amoral and and not liable to be put on trial.

    • @CardinalWest
      @CardinalWest  Před rokem

      Interesting, I'll have to check that video out!

  • @graylykan2739
    @graylykan2739 Před rokem +15

    Fascinating video! I never heard about St. Guinefort until now. It's awful that the owner didn't see the dead snake until after he assumed the worst and killed his own dog. It's crazy how Guinefort's death shared parallels to Gelert's.
    I always look forward to seeing more content from you. Keep up the great work!

  • @zebrisky
    @zebrisky Před rokem +50

    I like the new editing style, and I hope you do more like this, both in terms of the content and the style, keep up the great work

  • @fatcat5817
    @fatcat5817 Před rokem +2

    Reminds me of what Tsume said to Kiba when they first met, "Don't be so quick to kill."

  • @alyssumfoxart
    @alyssumfoxart Před rokem +36

    I knew a little about St. Guinefort. But your research blew it out of the water. Beautiful job! I’d love a rebirth of venerating St. Guinefort.

  • @elizabethduplat5998
    @elizabethduplat5998 Před rokem +6

    This is such a wild, interesting story! History is amazing. I live in France and not that far from where this all happened.

  • @MatthewCaunsfield
    @MatthewCaunsfield Před rokem +2

    I live not far from Gelert's shrine. Fascinating to learn the long history his tale comes from

  • @My-cat-is-staring-at-you

    We've found him, gents. The goodest boi.

  • @punkbones
    @punkbones Před rokem +16

    Absolutely phenomenal job on this one :) Love the way you've edited everything. I'm always fascinated by how fundamentally intertwined humans and dogs are. Shit I mean, we've had dogs longer than agriculture. I remember hearing the Gelert story when I was younger, and it absolutely broke my heart. It makes a lot of sense to me that it's a recurring motif, rather than a singular story. Can't wait for the next one :)

  • @cramerfloro5936
    @cramerfloro5936 Před rokem +3

    Ironic that it was one of the "Hounds of the Lord" (Domini Canes), as they were sometimes jokingly called, that tried to end this dog's veneration

  • @AngelGonzalez-kw5yc
    @AngelGonzalez-kw5yc Před rokem +3

    12:30 when I first heard that story I legit started tearing up

  • @kitsunerose9545
    @kitsunerose9545 Před rokem +2

    Interestingly I've heard the phrase "to petition to" in reference to prayers naming particular saints

  • @blistlelo1700
    @blistlelo1700 Před rokem +5

    Instantly my favorite saint!

  • @mr.fiction1558
    @mr.fiction1558 Před rokem +8

    Interesting. Were the conclusions of your research your own, or somebody else's?
    Also, I love that bit with the "lord's hound" mythological type. A lesser researcher wouldn't know about mythological types.

    • @CardinalWest
      @CardinalWest  Před rokem +5

      My conclusions were based on a mix of Jean-Claude Schmitt's publications on the subject, and my own general knowledge of Christian theology and history.

    • @celestialogian1183
      @celestialogian1183 Před rokem +3

      @@CardinalWest I'm not sure how appreciated this tidbit could be to this crowd, but the Dominicans, whom you mentioned Stephen of Bourbon to be a member of, were nicknamed "Hounds of the Lord".

  • @wj4505
    @wj4505 Před rokem +1

    Gotta be the most Cardinal West Cardinal West video

  • @ZephLodwick
    @ZephLodwick Před rokem +2

    Just the right mix of laughs and learning.

  • @zavandi8736
    @zavandi8736 Před rokem +6

    wonderful video as always, thank you for sharing the tale of the goodest doggo.

  • @Julia-qt5wd
    @Julia-qt5wd Před rokem +1

    7:57 I SAW THIS PAINTING AT THE MET A FEW MONTHS AGO!

  • @vhoro4514
    @vhoro4514 Před rokem +8

    Your videos are superb, I hope they bring you great success. Your analysis of xenofiction has introduced me to so many new things to find interest in.
    You're a great content creator, keep up the good work👍

  • @Barakon
    @Barakon Před rokem +5

    Is there a version of the faithful hound where they don’t kill the dog because the reveal intervenes with the killing?
    By that I mean, if there a version of the story where the child cries before the sword would strike & the dog would unveil the child from the blanket, wagging its tail & whining?

  • @Armakk
    @Armakk Před rokem +3

    9:35 is one of the funniest visual jokes I seen in a while. Had my chihuahua on my lap and woke him up when I fell out 🤣 Also, thanks for citing sources, this former journalist appreciates it a lot.

  • @gentlesavage2068
    @gentlesavage2068 Před rokem +2

    Would be cool to see you review Isle of Dogs

  • @darkninjafirefox
    @darkninjafirefox Před rokem +2

    This sounds like a puppet history episode! I think you covered it really well, I really like your editing style

  • @lyrakae
    @lyrakae Před rokem +1

    Bruh all those villages are super close to where I live how did I not knew about it???

  • @iclynnx
    @iclynnx Před rokem +3

    Great timing, I just got your book delivered! It looks great, feels nice in my hands, and I'm excited to start reading it. I glimpsed the first page of the chapter and the sentences already look promising. It'll be fun seeing if you really are much better than that bird fiction book you critiqued ;)

  • @JKplaysMC1
    @JKplaysMC1 Před rokem +1

    This is such a great video! Keep up the good work!

  • @nvrmnt9387
    @nvrmnt9387 Před rokem +1

    the editing and like ,, tone (?) of this video is so so good i love your other writing / editing / delivery style but this one’s reallll fun

  • @numinasarcadia1717
    @numinasarcadia1717 Před rokem +15

    As a furry and uni religion student, this is made my day

  • @zeldajunkielol2
    @zeldajunkielol2 Před rokem

    Awesome video, thoroughly enjoyed it.

  • @krabat1223
    @krabat1223 Před rokem

    awesome video as always

  • @gossamersands
    @gossamersands Před rokem +1

    those car seat headrest references were jumpscares
    great video though!

  • @dilliedAlly
    @dilliedAlly Před rokem +1

    So interesting! I love your videos and this was a cool editing style for it too :)

  • @studiostoneage9567
    @studiostoneage9567 Před rokem

    Awesome, great video!

  • @idrisa7909
    @idrisa7909 Před 3 měsíci

    Interestingly in Chile people have depicted a dog in a similar way. La Negro Matapacos (literally, "the Black Cop-Killer") was one of the street dogs known for protecting and siding with Chilean civilian protestors. He died a few years ago and is still beloved.

  • @tell-me-a-story-
    @tell-me-a-story- Před rokem +1

    She story is exactly like an Indian tale I've heard about a mongoose!

  • @sakamotosan1887
    @sakamotosan1887 Před rokem +108

    To play a Christian's advocate here: Christianity is not a "sect" of an Abrahamic religion. From the perspective of Christianity, it is a continuation of Judaism, and Islam is a heretical offshoot. And animals aren't considered objects, they are living beings, though they do not have the same status as humans. Humans are essentially the "priests" of the world, the mediators between the physical world of plants and animals and the spiritual world. Humans are considered to be both animals and spirits at the same time. All of creation is made by God and therefore it is good, and humanity is meant to be a failthful steward of it and care for it as a gardener cares for a garden. A fine mess we've made of it indeed, but that's another matter. But animals are not there merely to exploit without remorse. We are expected to be good stewards, not selfish exploiters.

    • @CrownedAnarchy
      @CrownedAnarchy Před rokem +32

      Most sects of any belief don't view themselves as a sect but as the legitimate continuity. The perspective of Christianity is as irrelevant to classification as the perspective of Islam or Judaism.

    • @RogueT-Rex8468
      @RogueT-Rex8468 Před rokem +1

      🤲🏼👑

    • @nathanbrown3497
      @nathanbrown3497 Před rokem +9

      @user-mp2jk4bp1e That's why it's important to investigate the validity of one's beliefs. A lot of people think religion is just blind faith, when in reality we should be testing the things we believe. As a Christian my faith has gotten stronger as I discover more about things like fulfilled prophesy, the historical accuracy of the new testament, and the cohesion of the Bible as a whole. I still have questions sure, but that's not a bad thing. Faith just means believing when you don't have all the answers

    • @_indigo_inked
      @_indigo_inked Před rokem +8

      I’m actually learning about this in college right now! It’s a Christian Tradition class and we’re going over doctrine and historical Catholicism vs our understanding of modern Christianity.
      Very well said as far as humanity’s relationship to animals. The start of the Bible says that all of God’s creation is “good” and humanity’s job in a perfect world was to steward and serve the land and animals.

    • @Near_Pluto_
      @Near_Pluto_ Před rokem +2

      Well put

  • @morganwinter7101
    @morganwinter7101 Před rokem

    I love the Animal Crossing music in the background

  • @krankarvolund7771
    @krankarvolund7771 Před rokem +3

    To be precise, being burned at the stake was not a punishment for heresy, it was a punishment for relapsing, meaning returning to heresy. If you were caught once in heresy and condemned, you got a punishment, like a fine, corporal punishment, etc... and you were supposed to become a good christian. But if you were caught again, then you were a lost cause and condemned to be burned.
    Of course, if they want you to burn, you'll burn even if it's the first trial, that's what happen to Jeanne d'Arc, she was captured, accused of divers crimes from listening to God rather than the church, to wearing men's clothes and quitting her parent's house without their permission. And she was declared relapse, despite this trial being her first, because they just wanted to kill her ^^
    Also the Spanish Inquisition is famous, because it was very organized, with very zealous inquistors specialized in hunting jews and muslims. Heretics too, but the main goal was to find jews or muslims who said they were christians, but continued to celebrate their religion privately, and the inquisitors were particulary zealous because they were paid by the sale of the posessions of the persons they condemned XD

  • @The0Kyuubi0Kid
    @The0Kyuubi0Kid Před rokem +1

    nice video buddy

  • @CloudCuckooCountry
    @CloudCuckooCountry Před rokem +2

    "Yo Dawg"
    - God

  • @gunesturkmen
    @gunesturkmen Před rokem +1

    This whole thing sounds like a Powerwolf song.

  • @alexforce9
    @alexforce9 Před rokem +2

    "The saint dog " - me - "Aaaawwww, thats cute." 20 minutes later - Women leaving their sick kids alone in the woods at night.

  • @PoppyHapalopus
    @PoppyHapalopus Před rokem +3

    I wonder if Negro Matapacos - Black Cop-Killer, a stray dog who joined protests in Chile - could count as a type of folk saint. There are many murals to him and he has become something of a protest symbol since his passing in 2017.

    • @PoppyHapalopus
      @PoppyHapalopus Před rokem +3

      There's also a growing trend/community on tumblr of people venerating Laika as a patron saint of one-way trips/protector of travelers. There is an immense amount of art and poetry dedicated to her, which never fails to make me cry

  • @valeskajones2629
    @valeskajones2629 Před rokem +3

    #bringbackguinefort

  • @hobosapien1813
    @hobosapien1813 Před rokem

    Hey I was curious, what is the image you used at 18:20?

  • @tell-me-a-story-
    @tell-me-a-story- Před rokem +2

    As a Christian, we don't normally read "Dominion" As seeing animals as objects, or existing for our use, it means were are responsable for them. If you read the bible, people are often shown as being very wicked for mistreating their animals.

  • @danthiel8623
    @danthiel8623 Před rokem +1

    What about the beast of gevaudan

  • @robertfaucher3750
    @robertfaucher3750 Před rokem

    Time for a pilgrimage

  • @GhostEmblem
    @GhostEmblem Před rokem +2

    14:57 surely you're making up that last one its like the punchline to a joke.

    • @CardinalWest
      @CardinalWest  Před rokem +3

      Nope lol - while the Catholic church doesn't recognize Saint Barbara as a patron of the Russian SRS, the Russians themselves adopted her as an unofficial patron saint (similarly to how the US 82nd Airborne Division adopted Saint Michael without church recognition).

  • @Barakon
    @Barakon Před rokem +1

    21:28

  • @tangentfox4677
    @tangentfox4677 Před 7 měsíci

    I’m sorry.. I completely expected the Spanish Inquisition clip exactly where you put it.

  • @mathieuleader8601
    @mathieuleader8601 Před rokem

    I wonder if St. Christopher would be pals with Guinefort

  • @eccoeco3454
    @eccoeco3454 Před 5 měsíci

    (to be read as a gregorian chant
    St. Guinefort pray for us sinners
    For thou art a good boy
    Amen

  • @johanandersson8252
    @johanandersson8252 Před rokem

    Pray to Saint. Barbruh

  • @availanila
    @availanila Před rokem

    Awww! Stephen's more inspirational than the dog. 🥰 But dog gone it! Poor doggie.

  • @Lovehandels
    @Lovehandels Před rokem

    This is also the story of Riki tiki

  • @rotisseriepossum
    @rotisseriepossum Před rokem

    what song is that at 1:17?

  • @krankarvolund7771
    @krankarvolund7771 Před rokem +2

    Just to say that the dechristianisation of France was not a will of the central power, in fact both the left and the right of the Convention (the parliament during the first aprt of the French Revolution) was vocally against persecuting christians. Priests were supposed to pledge allegiance to the Republic, and even that was causing problems, they thought that closing churches and de-priesting priests was going too far and causing too much problems.
    The problem was that, it was chaos. Revolutionnary France is not a totalitarian state at all, it's a weak state at war with both half of Europe and half of its own country, and even afraid of the population of its own capital. So when the Commune of Paris decide to close all churches in Paris, the government which is in Paris can just vote a law that will not be respected by the parisians, and hope that they'll remain calm ^^
    And it's even worse in cities that are at several days of Paris, they sent delegates, but the delegate have pretty much all powers and can at best be called back and judged. So the atheists delegates persecuted christians, and no one dared to say no, even if legally the central government guaranteed freedom of all religions ^^'

  • @carlose4314
    @carlose4314 Před rokem +1

    Lutherans and Anglicans are less hostile to the veneration of saints than Calvinist-derived protestant groups.

  • @optillian4182
    @optillian4182 Před rokem +2

    Didn't I do it for you?

  • @huntah6150
    @huntah6150 Před rokem

    Its Lord Foog the 2st

  • @jirivorobel942
    @jirivorobel942 Před rokem +3

    Burning the dog's remains on a pyre made from the grove sounds a bit too specific - I wonder if there was any link to pagan and anti-pagan activities.

  • @dollveins
    @dollveins Před 5 měsíci

    of course it was a borzoi. sweet darlings

  • @TheCommonGentry
    @TheCommonGentry Před rokem

    that would be cool tho. to help send Tolkien down the path to sainthood :)

  • @metallicoctopus2037
    @metallicoctopus2037 Před rokem +1

    While we are different and exalted above animals, we are called to be stewards of the Earth, not just users of resources, but caretakers. I am not Catholic, and, if I’m honest, I don’t see Catholicism as Christianity at all. We can all commune with God, as per speaking in tongues and the voice gifts in church (see 1 Corinthians 14) and don’t need some dead guy in the ground to intercede. Either way, your dissolution of the Christian ideas about animals and the earth is narrow sighted and smells a little bit of heavy biases. This is not meant as an attack, but as a helpful critique. Love your content.

    • @nathanielus5296
      @nathanielus5296 Před rokem

      Too bad the Catholic Church is the only real Church founded by Jesus Christ 😎

  • @joenathan8059
    @joenathan8059 Před 11 měsíci

    I'm orthodox but I refuse to believe that Guinefort is not saint

  • @rwilson1197
    @rwilson1197 Před rokem

    Deus vult

  • @riverAmazonNZ
    @riverAmazonNZ Před rokem +3

    Worshipping in a grove of trees in the woods is such a pagan thing. Sounds like it might be continuation of even older styles of belief

  • @danielgriffith7323
    @danielgriffith7323 Před 5 měsíci

    is giving furry

  • @navienslavement
    @navienslavement Před rokem +3

    No furries in heaven

    • @Envy_Dragon
      @Envy_Dragon Před rokem +14

      "If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." -- Sean Bean

  • @UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana

    Religions' beliefs about angels, demons, etc and their free will or corporeal-ness are absolutely all over the place 😵‍💫 😵‍💫 😵‍💫.
    Mostly because they are molded to fit their theology and thus make no sense internally, with scripture, or as a thing for God 🧖🤖 to make.
    The plain reading of all scriptures make a whole lot more sense than theology, mostly because the scriptures are written by fewer people 🙍🤖.