Case file · Cryptid
Courtaud, the wolf who terrorised Paris
In the hard winters of the 1430s–1440s wolves entered Paris and killed people; a pack led by a bob-tailed wolf called 'Courtaud' was trapped and slain in front of Notre-Dame in 1450.
1450 CE · 48.85, 2.35 · status: legend
The account
The 'Journal d'un bourgeois de Paris' records wolves killing 14 people between Montmartre and the Porte Saint-Antoine in September 1439.
The sceptical view
The wolf attacks are documented; the named leader Courtaud and his end at Notre-Dame belong to later retelling.