RATRAMNUS & THE DOG-HEADED PEOPLERatramnus (died circa 868) was a theological controversialist of the second half of the 9th century. He wrote an odd Letter on the Dog-headed Creatures, dissenting from the commonly held belief that the mythical cynocephali were animals. It is a very curious piece, addressed to the presbyter Rimbert who had answered his queries in regard to the cynocephali, and had asked in return for an opinion respecting their position in the scale of being. Ratramnus was asked by one of his disciple monks who was preparing to travel to Britain: ‘What do I do when I encounter the dog-heads? Do I preach to them? Can I thereby save their souls? Or do I look at them as animals and therefore don’t preach to them?„ Ratramnus who was a great expert on dog-heads replied: ‘Ask them first if they are descended from Adam.’ (Ignoring the fact here that dog-heads don‟t have the ability of speech, but anyway…) He further reminded his disciple that dog-heads live in villages, wear clothes, and practice agriculture; that they cover their genitalia (sensitivity on these matters is a sure sign of humanness); and that they keep their own animals, and dogs no less. Ratramnus concluded that dog-heads are clearly descended from Adam (although the Church generally classed them with beasts) and that they may even receive baptism by being rained upon and their souls can therefore be saved. He consequently commanded his disciple to always preach to the dog-heads. (Epistola de cynocephalis, Migne, CXXI. col. 1153-1156). RATRAMNUS’S LETTER OF THE DOG-HEADED PEOPLE Written to Rimbert, an elder. “To the one esteemed with the gifts of divine grace, and writing in Christ to RIMBERT the honoured elder, RATRAMNUS greets him in the Lord Jesus Christ everlasting. After you were informed of our request, you wrote to us about those things you were able to learn concerning the nature of the Cynocephali, and you pleased me more than a little. Indeed, I‟m going to revise very little of what you claimed about them; you will know that by no means did I come to this [sentiment] out of the torpor of carelessness, but that I was in fact uncertain of what was not attested by the presence of an informer. But now Brother Sarward is coming to us and will return to you, and given this opportunity we were anxious to briefly disclose what we thought concerning your investigation. For you are asking what you ought to think of the Cynocephali; namely, whether they were descended from Adam‟s stock, or if they have the souls of beasts: this question can be briefly settled as follows. If we were to consider the kinds of people there are, it should seem obvious that they had been descended from the offspring of the first humans. And of course it is impossible to suppose that a person came from some other origin than through the means of their earliest ancestors. If we ponder about the species of beasts, named as such by humans, by their nature they don‟t communicate. Meanwhile with this knowledge, if we were indeed satisfied with our supposition, which is clearly held by the learned church-ministers, then they [the Cynocephali] should be considered closer to beasts than humans; if in fact they have a canine head shape and bark like dogs, it shows they are not like humans, but are similar to beasts. Next, a human head is round and placed on top so he can behold the heavens, whereas the dog‟s head is oblong and drawn out in a snout so he looks to the ground. And humans talk, but dogs, in fact, bark. Truly, from those letters you kindly sent us, while they studiously reported the nature of these [Cynocephali], they indicate several things which seem to agree that they have the reasoning mind of a human, rather than the sensibilities of a beast: Evidently they uphold the laws of their society; they are said to live together in houses; they practice agriculture, and harvest crops; they show that they respect customs which are not beastly by clothing themselves with human-like modesty, and this is evidence for their sense of shame; they don‟t just use hides for garments, but you even wrote that they have cloth. Now, in a way, all these things seem to testify that a rational mind is present within them. For since a civil society may be described as the unification of degenerate people equally under the same law, and since these [Cynocephali] are said to live together with each other in communal houses, I believe the distinguishing factor of civility fits in helpfully with such [creatures]. And if in fact they form a crowd when they gather together, they can only live together under some kind of lawful agreement. Indeed, where some type of law is preserved, it is also held together with the unanimous agreement of wills. And any sort of law cannot exist where it isn‟t decreed by collective consent. Certainly, [laws] can neither be set in place nor ever preserved without some kind of moral instruction. Truly, now, [your letter] shows that they cultivate fields, plough the earth, and sow seeds in the countryside to gain profit, and that they are skilled in craft. These traits would be completely unknown if [the Cynocephali] were not endowed with a reasoning mind to support them. And as a matter of fact, it is reasonable to look for the purpose of a single action, where there is a purpose: What is it that makes the soil fertile? Why did it yield an abundance of seed? Without the agricultural knowledge of these things, could never be cultivated. Moreover, they have the diligence of a rational mind to know how to make clothing from either hide or wool and linen. For they could not have obtained these things without some kind of workmanship, and the knowledge of craft is only bestowed on a rational mind. But to clothe themselves in shame is a sign of honour – which is not sought for unless they can judge in their mind a difference between disgrace and decency. And surely no one can blush about immodesty unless they happen to have some concept of decency. Now, nobody – except someone who lacks reason – would deny that these things are all characteristic of a rational mind. They [the Cynocephali] distinguish between probity and disgrace, and they are capable in their knowledge of craft, they establish laws of peace and concord, and they can‟t be without a discernment of reason nor devoid of shrewd ingenuity. On this subject, when you say that there seem to be other things among the Cynocephali, you give evidence that a rational mind really is present in them. Truly, man is distinguished from the beasts only by his rationality. People seem to be better at reasoning than animals. The published account of the martyr Saint Christopher seems to adequately support this understanding. Now as it was read there, he is thought to have come from this race of people, and he fully committed both his life and martyrdom to radiant virtues. For it is believed that he was divinely influenced to be baptised, with the help of a cloud pouring all over him, as evidenced by his account. Additionally, many things are being reported with spreading fame, things which seem to suggest that this race of people is in command of rational thought. Isidore also said this in his notes when he was talking about the varieties of monsters which originated from the human race, in the Book of Etymologies: And just as there are monstrous individuals within the clans of people, so there are monstrous clans within the greater human race: the Giants, the Cynocephali, the Cyclopes, etcetera. » In saying this, he clearly showed that he believed the Cynocephali had originated from the offspring of the first man. For just as in the separate clans, certain tribes seem to be born against the law of nature, for example the Two-Headed, the Trimani, the Dwarfs, the Hermaphrodites (or Androgynes), and many more besides – however, these monsters don‟t arise against the law of nature, but they come about in a certain way with their own peculiar disposition, since the natural law is an arrangement of God; In the same way also, these marvellous monsters seem to introduce a monstrous branch to the natural lineage of the entire human race, monsters which were mentioned above and many more besides, and which take a long time to list: the Pygmies and the Back-To-Front, the former of which are said to stand at only a cubit in height, and it is said that the latter‟s feet are turned around behind their legs, and that they have eight toes on each foot; the Horse-Hoofed, who are a mix of a human body with the feet of a horse; the Macrobi, standing nearly twice as tall as a regular human; and the tribe of women in India who conceive at the age of five and don‟t live longer than eight years; and many other extraordinary [creatures] are told about. But although these monsters reportedly originated from the human race, they are hardly ever said to be people who are equipped with a rationality that is to their strength. Indeed, in regards to the Giants who are counted among these monsters, almost no one doubts that these people were born from humans, and since [these creatures] are supported with the authority of divine scripture, we should not omit them. While the Cynocephali are numbered together with these monsters, they are even thought to be sentient, certainly if the things which are read concerning Saint Christopher were established, seeing that this well- known rumour about them spread. But although we may say or think as much, it does not follow that whatever is produced from a human being is also human and has been granted with the genius of human reason. For instance, it is read that a calf [or foal] was born from a lady, or that a serpent emerged from a woman. But consequently, I would agree that neither the calf nor the serpent had a human or rational mind. Also, a monster was born in the time of King Alexander‟s reign whose upper part crushed a man, and his lower half in fact brought forth the appearance of various living beasts. But although these beasts were born of human origin, I wouldn‟t ever think that they had a rational mind, unless I‟m lacking reason – this is evident through observation. On this subject, this notion is not of our concern: because they originated from humans, I would have believed that they necessarily had the power of rational thought, if weren‟t for what you wrote and what is read and spoken of about such things. That changed how I thought. But now, those things which are said about these [creatures] seem to be so copious and so compelling that to either not give credence to them or wishing to oppose them would seem like stubbornness rather than discretion. In addition, your letter shows that all the kinds of domestic animals which are owned in our districts are kept among those [Cynocephali]. Truly, if they had a beastly and irrational mind, I see no way that they could do this. If in fact the animals of the earth have been subordinated under people by divine will, we should know this from reading Genesis. Indeed, since [the Cynocephali] take care of other kinds of beasts living with themselves, especially of the domesticated kind, and since they treat them with carefulness, and herd them with commands, in order to master and prepare them for use, we wouldn‟t know this was heard if it was not accordingly believed as such. But surely, since the Cynocephali are said to keep a great number of domesticated animals, the wildness of beasts doesn‟t seem fitting in the least for those who tamed their household animals with tenderness. This is what I think about the sentience of the Cynocephali. Besides, whether you find it agreeable to think about them this way, or if you differ in opinion, that is not for us to judge. Certainly, in regards to what you had asked about the book of Saint Clement, learned men do not consider it completely authoritative, although it is not always rejected. For certain things are read in that [book] of ours, which support a dogma that does not always correspond with the one held by our church. But actually, the things written in there about the accomplishments of Paul the Apostle are accepted, and it contains nothing that would possibly oppose or contradict the doctrine of Christ. Let us be glad to bid you farewell and happiness in Christ always, and we pray that you may keep us in mind.” http://ntwriters.proboards.com/thread/46940
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