Richard Trench wrote in 1846 that revenant was often used by the religious romance writers of the middle ages as a vehicle for their conception of the lower world. This was an early use of revenant, but by no means the first use. And I’m not sure what he means by “lower world”, although I can guess.
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I was interested in the word revenant, especially as it was used as a movie title recently. Some of the dictionaries I consulted chose not to use the word, but my 20-volume Oxford dictionary had several examples going back many years.
I was discouraged from seeing the movie. Apparently it was too brutal for my delicate eyes. When I grow up I might sneak out one night to watch it. I did see Spotlight, however, the film that won the Academy Award against Revenant, but that’s another story.
The word revenant comes from the Latin word reveniens and the French revenir, to return, and it means “one who returns from the dead, a ghost”. It means one who returns from something dastardly, not from a day shopping.
A revenant can’t come back from the beach with a good sun tan; he must come back from the dead, or maybe almost dead - and a few bullet holes would help.
A revenant apparently shares some characteristics with vampires, or even of zombies in modern usage.
William of Newburgh wrote in the 1190s about corpses who wandered about seeking revenge against their killers or for some other purpose, but always returning to their allotted tomb. He seemed obsessed with revenants.
There was also the story about revenants who called on women at night. Couldn’t the wives have fun with that one. “Oh, that wasn’t the man from down the road. That was a revenant….”
Revenants were also described as wicked, vain or unbelievers.
Those who saw the movie might remember that the man who returned “from the dead” was not a ghost, but he did experience some moments that were described to my ears as gruesome.
It was one of those films that was “almost a true story”, as The Lady in The Van was described, probably with emphasis on the word “almost”.
It happened so long ago and details are sketchy.
In the film Revenant, trapper Hugh Glass is attacked in 1823 by a grizzly bear and is left for dead by his so-called friends. The key parts of the story are what happened next. I can’t tell you what happened in the film because I haven’t seen it, but I know that actor Leonardo diCaprio sheds his pretty-boy image.
One report from a few hundred years ago was that a revenant wandered the streets and called out the names of people who would die within three days, so the body of the alleged wanderer was dug up and his head cut off. That fixed that.
There was also the story about revenants who called on women at night. Couldn’t the wives have fun with that one.
My big dictionary reports that in some parts of Europe thousands of people still believe the word has relevance.
The word seems to be popular in computer games. One question that came to the fore is “does anyone know how to kill a revenant?”
A person close to me wants to be buried – as distinct from cremated – and she wants to take a mobile phone with her, just in case.
The problem of reception is yet to be resolved.
lauriebarber.com; lbword@midcoast.com.au.
