Visum Et Repertum Analysis

For hundreds of years, many cultures have observed and drawn conclusions in an attempt to prove the existence of vampires. In “Visum et Repertum”, from Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality, Johannes Fluchinger presents an investigation of multiple suspected vampire related deaths in the village of Medvegia. This excerpt contains a medical investigation carried out by medical officers which concludes that the death of seventeen villagers was related to vampire attacks. In addition, the excerpt demonstrates that the inhabitants of Medvegia believed that the individuals that passed had become vampires. This is supported due to the examination of deceased villagers who displayed a condition of vampirism in their graves. It was believed
In addition, there were three bodies that were found completely decomposed, and they were then reburied. One of the first individuals to demonstrate the condition of vampirism was Arnold Paole, an individual who many villagers claimed was troubled by vampires during his life. Less than a month after his death, villagers claimed that he was tormenting them and even killed four people, and as a result the villagers dug up his grave and found an undecayed and bloody body that let out a groan when staked. The villagers deduced that he was a vampire. Fluchinger’s text is an urgent attempt to present a persuasive piece on the existence of vampires which was quite effective during the 18th century, but proves to be an erroneous and illogical report when further
The use of ethos is evident in the statement, “The undersigned attest here with that all that which the Regiment Medical officer of the Honorable Fürstenbusch Regiment had observed in the matter of the vampires –along with both of the medical officers who have signed with him –is in every way truthful and has been undertake, observed, and examined in our own presence. In confirmation thereof is our signature in our own hand, of our own making” (“Visum et Repertum”) . The author is attempting to persuade the reader by presenting credibility, and in this case it was medical officers and regime of Medvegia. Logos is also used throughout the work to persuade the reader that vampires are the culprit for the villagers deaths. This is presented with evidence and deduction, and a clear example of this is the body of Arnold Paole. It was believed that Paole had been troubled by vampires during his life and he appeared to have been affected by vampirism in his grave. When the villagers attempted to kill him with a stake his body released a noise which prompted them to believe that he was a vampire. They concluded, “that all those who were tormented and killed by the vampire must themselves become vampires” (“Visum et Repertum”). This statement appeals to logos because of the deductive process used to reach this conclusion. In addition, the presentation of research by the medical officers and their attempted