Sax, Boria

Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, Volume 22, Number 4, December 2009

This article looks at familiars in a context of folklore. Possible precedents for familiars include shamanic animal helpers, mascots of deities or saints, and local spirits, all of which are usually classified by folklorists as "grateful animals." Stories of witches and familiars are in the mainstream of European folklore, and their sole novelty lies in the fact that those figures were demonized. One result of the witch trials in England was that stories of animal sages, guides, and protectors were largely eliminated from English folklore, since these too closely resembled familiars. The persecution of those who consorted with familiars helped deprive animals of all intrinsic significance, thus opening the way for their exploitation as livestock and their humanization as pets in the centuries to come. Even today, however, familiars continue to be significant, exemplifying an intense communion between animals and human beings.