After much blood had been spilled, the Beast of the Gevaudan has and will certainly spill a lot of ink. More than 1500 writings have been listed on the issue since 1767.
The documents at this time
One can find most of them in public records and libraries. All of them are not known, especially those, if they exist, belonging to private records. Maybe they will, one day, increase our understanding of this news item out of the common. They can be seen under two formats:
Manuscripts :
Letters – parish registers – minutes – memoirs – Expense invoices
Printed matters :
Orders – Circular letters - posters – press coverage (gazette de France and courrier d'Avignon in particular)
Gravures - Poems, laments – Summoning of the bishop of Mende)
Bounties given to hunters.
The writings since the death of the Beast
We cannot quote them all because the Beast has aroused a lot of passion and therefore lots of books and articles have been published after its death. Some are historic studies, others scientific studies, novels, plays, comic books…
These numerous works, with broaden content, often discomfit people who discover this story. To make sure we are clear and concise, we will only mention the main books (by chronological order) and not the press coverage.