Don’t Mess with French Milkmaids, even if you’re the Beast of Gévaudan

Eleven years before the United States’ first Independence Day, there were dark things afoot in southern France. Dark, wolfie things…
 
Something was prowling the woods of the Gévaudan [1] and, unfortunately for the local peasants, this creature craved human flesh. Though details are sketchy, the first documented killing from this Beast was of a 14-years-old boy named Jeanne Boulet. Little Jeanne’s death was followed by so many more that the matter eventually received royal attention from King Louis XV. The final death tally remains unknown. Regardless, these killings were brutal and bloody, with the head and neck being the favorite targets of this Beast.
​
But what was doing all this killing? Eyewitnesses reported a hulking, lupine figure ranging in size from a calf to a horse. Its features were confusingly described as being similar to local animals by some (e.g., having aspects of a wolf, greyhound) whereas others reported far more exotic features akin to those of an African hyena. What was indisputable, however, was the lethality of the Beast’s teeth and the mortal fear that gripped the community.

An early depiction of the Beast ca. 1764. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Creative Commons License.

La Bête beer in amber and "red" (a fruit Lambic style). At 8% horsepower, they are fitting tributes to the deadly power of the Beast of Gévaudan.

It is in this scary context that history is first introduced to Marie-Jeanne Vallet. All things considered, she was an unlikely figure to become famous. Only 19-years-old at the time of our tale, Marie-Jeanne came from humble beginnings. She was far from wealthy, royal, or influential. As was common in her time, she worked on her family’s farm, presumably harvesting wheat and caring for her family’s cows and other livestock. Living in a small, tightly knit community, bad news travels fast. She no doubt learned of the Beast’s threat from neighbors and family members.  Being a prudent milk maid, she made herself a spear that she carried with her whenever she walked around the suddenly dangerous Gévaudan. 

One fine summer day – Sunday, August 11th, 1765, to be exact – Marie-Jeanne crossed a small wooden bridge with her little sister, Thérèse. It was only when they reached the other side that Marie-Jeanne noticed that they were not alone. The Beast was there. It noticed them, too. It was now circling them with obviously bad intentions.
 
The creature attacked, lunging at young Marie-Jeanne. Acting out of fear and inborn instincts for self-preservation, she somehow managed to get her bayonet in front of her. Marie-Jeanne then set that homespun spear using all the strength she could muster from her 19-year-old frame and proceeded to plant it solidly in the Beast’s chest, letting its own momentum drive it further inward. Roaring in pain and spurting blood, the Beast stopped its attack and wisely decided to bugger off in pursuit of other and far easier maidenly meals. Unfortunately for the Gévaudan, though, the wound was not mortal. Hunting dogs were soon brought in to track the wounded beast, but quickly lost its trail. The killings continued for quite some time afterwards. 

A lovely little church in Auvers, France. If you can find this, you can find the monument to Marie-Jeanne and the Beast.

Much has been written of the Beast and the many theories of its origin and demise [2], but we are more interested in what happened to our pike-wielding heroine. Though she became famous as “the Maid of Gévaudan”, Marie-Jeanne soon fell on hard times. Just a few years after marrying a local innkeeper in 1772, she, her brothers, and several others were arrested. The charges of 1778 included theft and disruption of the local grain supply through threatening and attacking travelers. Some have claimed that these actions were due to hunger. Regardless, the theft resulted in her doing jail time at the Tower of Constance, almost 300 km from where she fought the Beast. Upon her release, she returned to her marital home.
 
The sad tale does not end there, though. Her husband was killed in 1784 by Marie-Jeanne’s own brother. She herself died just three years later at the young age of 41. A sad end to what started out as a remarkable life.

However, before you judge her, ask yourself if you could have so bravely defended yourself and your little sister from a ravening, bloodthirsty Beast who had killed many before? Could you have set that rickety DIY lance so firmly and resolutely, or would you have frozen in fear like a poor guinea pig and become the next victim? Therefore, wheat thief or not, we believe that the Maid of Gévaudan deserves our respect and maybe even a celebratory drink to remember her pluckily awesome actions on that hot summer’s day over 250 years ago.

The monument to 19-years-old Marie-Jeanne’s bravery.

The Site
The statue of Marie-Jeanne and the Beast was crafted by Philippe Kaeppelin and erected in 1995. It is impressive, especially as you take in the beautiful rural surroundings. There is a small dirt parking lot conveniently located right beside the site. A lovely little church is nearby, too. If you visit on a clear day, you will be able to literally see for miles in every direction. Even better, if you go off-season, you may have the entire site to yourself. However, this is not the actual place where she faced down the Beast. That is located nearer to the River Desges.

Location
Auvers Village, 43300 France
Just get to the town and you’ll find it.

Notes and Citations
[1] The modern-day departments of Lozère and parts of Haute-Loire.
[2] For the full tale of the Beast of Gévaudan, see:

Smith, Jay M. (2011). Monsters of the Gévaudan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
​
Thompson, Richard H. (1991). Wolf-Hunting in France in the Reign of Louis XV: The Beast of the Gévaudan.