Alain Parbeau
La bestia del Gebaudan or the grace of Jean Chastel
In the first part of this book, he examines the part played by one of the main characters in the story of the Beast of Gévaudan, Jean Chastel. Though Chastel is frequently accused by other writers of having been implicated in the events which took place, Parbeau works on the presumption that he was actually innocent.
More intrigued by the animal's apparent resistance to 17th century firearms, the author has carried out extensive experiments to collect data on the performance of various types of rifle and pistols of the period. The conclusions which he draws from the results, and his own theories about the Beast's 'invulnerability', are presented in the second part of the book.
Book available from the author against 14 euros postage included (in France)
Alain Parbeau, 100 rue de Pibois - 44260 - La Chapelle Launay - France
Year of publication of the presented edition: 2009 (65 pages)
Editor: auto edition by the author
The author:
Specialist in firearms, gunpowder but also old bladed weapons, teacher in a technical high school of "security professions" and specialist in old weapons, Alain Parbeau, born in 1954, can help us separate belief from data. technical because he has been interested in the forge, the animals and the story of the Beast of Gévaudan for years. Author of a document devoted to the ballistic performance of 18th century weapons, he is able to give details on powder and flint lock double-barreled rifles of the time. Inexhaustible and passionate, fascinating, he is an incredible source of information, of anecdotes that we would listen to for hours without getting tired.
The author's blog on black powder and medieval festivals
On this blog, you will have access to a lexicon of old and current gunsmith terms as well as a “little history of firearms”.
