The Chronicle of Henry of Erfurt

Summary

Henry of Erfurt was a German Dominican who died in 1370, and who compiled his Liber de Rebus Memorabilioribus, or ‘Book of Remarkable Events’, as part of a Chronicle of his times. In this entry for the year 1349, the chronicler gives an account of the interrogation of a cheerful and lively ghost called Reyneke, or Reinhard, who seems to have come to town and taken up temporary residence in a house which, given the numerous references to an overburdened host, was probably an inn. The account is noteworthy both for the detail of the phantom hand with which Reyneke announces his presence, and for the impression that is conveyed of the dead leading an untroubled ‘parallel’ existence in the mountain ranges near the town where the conversation with Reyneke occurs. In the to-and-fro of the dialogue between the townspeople and the ghost, and in Reyneke's apparent attachment to the serving maid in the house where he is staying, there are echoes of Gervase of Tilbury's description of the interrogation of the Ghost of Beaucaire. The ejection from their makeshift accommodation of the importunate townspeople who insist on staying in the house resembles another of Gervase's stories about mischievous nocturnal spirits causing havoc in wine-cellars, while the marvellous preparation by Reyneke of an impromptu banquet recalls Memorabilia accounts of attentive servants (‘The Tale of King Herla’ and ‘King Arthur and the Butterfly Bishop’) as well as the story of the Ghostly Butler in the Gesta Romanorum (see Part Four).

The Hand of Reyneke

In 1349, the second year of the reign of Charles IV, another ghost revealed itself in the town of Cyrenbergh, part of the domain of the landgrave of Hesse. Although I am not sure whether it did actually occur, or whether it was a ‘fantasma’ or product of men's imaginations, the occurrence was said to have been something quite remarkable: a little human hand, soft and elegant, allowed itself to be seen and touched, and perhaps as many as a thousand people did indeed touch and feel it. Nothing apart from the hand was visible or tangible, but one could also hear quite distinctly the hoarse whispering voice of a man.