Victor of Aveyron ( French : Victor de l'Aveyron ; c. 1788 – 1828 ) was a French feral child who was found around the age of 9. Not only is he considered one of the most famous feral children, but his case is also the most documented case of a feral child. Upon his discovery, he was captured multiple times, running away from civilization approximately eight times. Eventually, his case was taken up by a young physician, Jean Marc Gaspard Itard , who worked with the boy for five years and gave him his name, Victor . Itard was interested in determining what Victor could learn. He devised procedures to teach the boy words and recorded his progress. Based on his work with Victor, Itard broke new ground in the education of the developmentally delayed.
41-460: Wild Boy , or variants, may refer to: People [ edit ] Wild Boy of Aveyron (c. 1788–1828), French boy found living wild in the woods Peter the Wild Boy (died 1785), boy from Hanover found living wild in the woods Books [ edit ] Wild Boy (novel) 2003 novel by Jill Dawson, fictional retelling of the story of Victor,
82-488: A person existing in the pure state of nature would be "gentle, innocent, a lover of solitude, ignorant of evil and incapable of causing intentional harm." Philosophies proposed by Rousseau , Locke and Descartes were evolving around the time the boy was discovered in France in 1800. These philosophies invariably influenced the way the boy was perceived by others, and eventually, how Itard would structure his education. It
123-442: A tree. They brought him to a nearby town where he was cared for by a widow. However, he soon escaped and returned to the woods; he was periodically spotted in 1798 and 1799. On 8 January 1800, he emerged from the forests on his own. His age was unknown, but citizens of the village estimated his age to be about 12. His lack of speech, as well as his food preferences and the numerous scars on his body, suggested to some that he had been in
164-545: A yellow cartoon dog, a "wild boy" with red spiky hair, and a bumblebee The Wild Boys (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Wild Boy . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wild_Boy&oldid=1237876813 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
205-549: Is Albi ; it has a single subprefecture , Castres . In French , the inhabitants of Tarn are known as Tarnais (masculine) and Tarnaises (feminine). Its INSEE and postcode number is 81. Tarn is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, through application of the Law of 22 December 1789. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc , and comprised
246-481: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Wild Boy of Aveyron Victor was prepubescent when he was captured in 1800 but experienced puberty within a year or two. It is not known when or how he came to live in the woods near Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance , though he was reportedly seen there around 1794. In 1797, he was spotted by three hunters; he ran from them, but they were able to catch him when he tried to climb
287-521: Is that the Wild Boy, though born normal, developed a serious mental or psychological disturbance before his abandonment. Precocious schizophrenia , infantile psychosis, autism; a number of technical terms have been applied to his position. Several psychiatrists I have consulted favour this approach. It provides both a motivation for abandonment and an explanation for his partial recovery under Itard's treatment." Victor died of pneumonia in Paris in 1828 in
328-538: The 2015 departmental elections , the Socialist Party (PS) won 26 seats and The Republicans (LR) and Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) alliance won 18 seats; two miscellaneous right candidates complete the assembly composition. Christophe Ramond (PS) has been President of the Departmental Council since 2017. In the 2017 legislative election , Tarn elected the following members of
369-512: The Bicêtre Hospital , wrote a report on Victor and considered him to be mentally ill and an idiot from birth. In that era, the term idiot was used to describe individuals with intellectual disabilities. Shortly after Victor was found, a local abbot and biology professor, Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre , examined him. He removed the boy's clothing and led him outside into the snow, where, far from being upset, Victor began to frolic about in
410-520: The Thoré River. The Montagne Noire , on the southwestern border of the department, derives its name from the forests on its northern slope. Its highest point is the Pic de Nore at 1,211 m (3,973 ft) high. The limestone and sandstone foot-hills are clothed with vines and fruit trees, and are broken by deep alluvial valleys of particular fertility. With the exception of a small portion of
451-631: The Caune woods." That means he presumably lived for seven years in the wilderness. It was clear that Victor could hear, but he was taken to the National Institute of the Deaf in Paris for the purpose of being studied by the renowned Roch-Ambroise Cucurron Sicard . Sicard and other members of the Society of Observers of Man believed that by studying, as well as educating the boy, they would gain
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#1732782361313492-668: The Montagne Noire, which drains into the river Aude , the whole department belongs to the basin of the Garonne . Tarn has a population, in 2019, of 389,844, for a population density of 67.7 inhabitants/km . Population development since 1801: The most populous commune is Albi , the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 10 communes with more than 6,000 inhabitants: There are 2 arrondissements , 23 cantons and 314 communes in Tarn. The Departmental Council of Tarn has 46 seats. In
533-587: The Mountains of Lacaune ( Monts de Lacaune ) are used for pasture . The highest point of the range and of the department is the Puech Montgrand , 1,267 m (4,157 ft) high; several other summits are not much short of this. The granite-strewn plateaux of the Sidobre , from 490 to 610 m (1,600 to 2,000 ft) high, separate the valley of the river Agout from that of its western tributary,
574-685: The UK as The Wild Boy Wildboyz , a 2003 MTV reality TV series, American spin-off television series and follow-up to Jackass Wild Boys , a 2011 Australian TV drama series from the Seven Network about bushrangers in 1860s' colonial New South Wales Music [ edit ] "Wild Boy" (song) , a 2011 single by Machine Gun Kelly See also [ edit ] Bigfoot and Wildboy , live action children's television series on ABC, from 1976 part of The Krofft Supershow on Saturday mornings Wild Boy and Puppy , porcelain sculpture featuring
615-577: The Wild Boy of Aveyron The Wild Boy , 2001 science fiction novel by Warren Rochelle Wild Boy , play about autism by Oliver Goldstick 2016 Wild Boy of the Woods , from List of Beano comic strips by annual Wildboys (comics) , fictional characters in the Marvel Universe Film and TV [ edit ] Wild Boy (film) , 1934 British film comedy about greyhound betting The Wild Child , 1970 French film released in
656-451: The approach of a dangerous animal or the fall of wild fruit." The only two phrases Victor ever actually learned to spell out were lait (' milk ') and Oh, Dieu ('Oh, God'). It would seem, however, that Itard implemented more contemporary views when he was educating Victor. Rousseau appears to have believed "that natural association is based on reciprocally free and equal respect between people." This notion of how to educate and to teach
697-524: The association between language and intellect, French society considered one with the other. Unless cared for by friends or family, the mute routinely ended up in horrible, ghastly conditions. However, around 1750, a French priest, Charles-Michel de l'Épée , created the Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris to educate the deaf and mute. His institution was made into a National Institute in 1790. This new interest and moral obligation towards
738-486: The authors using rather dubious second- or third-hand, printed information. According to French surgeon Serge Aroles, author of a general study of the phenomenon of feral children based on archives, almost all of these cases are fakes. In his judgment, Victor of Aveyron was not a genuine feral child; in Aroles' view, the scars on his body were not the consequences of a wild life in the forests, but rather of physical abuse at
779-402: The deaf and mute inspired Itard to nurture and attempt to teach Victor language. "He had Locke 's and Condillac 's theory that we are born with empty heads and that our ideas arise from what we perceive and experience. Having experienced almost nothing of society, the boy remained a savage." Throughout the years Itard spent working with Victor, he made some gradual progress. Victor understood
820-455: The department had four arrondissements: Albi, Castres, Gaillac and Lavaur. In 1926, the arrondissements of Gaillac and Lavaur were eliminated. By the law of 28 Pluviôse Year 5 , the departments of Hérault and of Tarn exchanged the canton of Anglès (which had been part of the diocese of Saint-Pons , but which has remained in Tarn) for that of Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare (which had been part of
861-592: The differences between humans and other animals. At that time, the scientific category Juvenis averionensis was used, as a special case of the Homo ferus , described by Carl Linnaeus in Systema Naturae . Linnaeus and his discoveries, then, forced people to ask the question, "What makes us [human]?" Another developing idea prevalent during the Enlightenment was that of the noble savage . Some believed
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#1732782361313902-523: The diocese of Castres, but which today remains in Hérault). Tarn is part of the Occitanie region and has an area of 5,757.9 km (2,223 sq mi). The department is surrounded by 5 departments, all belonging to the region Occitanie : Hérault to the southeast, Aude to the south, Aveyron to the north and east, Haute-Garonne to the southwest and west, as well as Tarn-et-Garonne to
943-426: The dioceses of Albi and Castres (which found themselves merged in 1817). The new department had five districts : Albi, Castres, Lavaur, Gaillac, Lacaune. The capitals (now prefectures ) were, alternatively, Albi and Castres but, from 1790 to 1797, the capital was only Albi; in 1797, the capital was moved to Castres. In 1800, Albi became again the capital of the department and the arrondissements were created;
984-405: The hands of his parents or whoever initially raised him. Humans need to be nurtured at least until the age of 5 or 6; it is inconceivable that any child, including Victor, could survive on his own, in the wild, younger than that. This disability could also explain why he was abused, perhaps treated like an animal, in his earliest years. Bettelheim, 1959 makes a case for this being a general pattern in
1025-550: The home of Madame Guérin. Professor Uta Frith has stated she believes Victor displayed signs of autism . Serge Aroles , in his book L'énigme des enfants-loups ( The Mystery of the Wolf-Children ), also believes that surviving accounts of his behavior point to "a moderate degree of autism " ( autisme moderé ) in Victor's case. Aroles notes that Victor showed characteristic signs of mental derangement, like grinding of
1066-429: The lack of progress made by the boy, he was left to roam the institution by himself, until Itard decided to take the boy into his home to keep reports and monitor his development. Jean Marc Gaspard Itard , a young medical student, effectively adopted Victor into his home and published reports on his progress. Itard believed two things separated humans from animals: empathy and language. He wanted to civilize Victor with
1107-562: The lives of so-called feral children. Victor's life has been dramatized or fictionalized in a number of works: Tarn (department) Tarn ( French pronunciation: [taʁn] or [ta:ʁ] ; Occitan pronunciation: [taɾ] ) is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France . Named after the river Tarn , it had a population of 389,844 as of 2019. Its prefecture and largest city
1148-410: The meaning of actions and used what 20th-century writer Roger Shattuck describes as "action language," which Itard regarded as a kind of primitive form of communication. However, Itard still could not get Victor to speak. He wondered why Victor would choose to remain silent when he had already proved that he was not, in fact, deaf. Victor also did not understand tones of voice. Itard proclaimed "Victor
1189-506: The mentally and physically handicapped." While Victor did not learn to speak the language that Itard tried to teach him, it seems that Victor did make progress in his behavior towards other people. At the Itard home, housekeeper Madame Guérin was setting the table one evening while crying over the loss of her husband. Victor stopped what he was doing and displayed consoling behavior towards her. Itard reported on this progress. When looking at
1230-525: The northwest. It is one of two French departments surrounded entirely by other departments of the same region. The slope of the department is from east to west, and its general character is mountainous or hilly. Tarn's three principal ranges lying to the south-east are: the Mountains of Lacaune , the Sidobre and the Montagne Noire , belonging to the Cévennes . The stony and wind-blown slopes of
1271-440: The nude, showing Bonnaterre that he was clearly accustomed to exposure and cold. The local government commissioner, Constans-Saint-Esteve, also observed the boy and wrote there was "something extraordinary in his behavior, which makes him seem close to the state of wild animals". The boy was eventually taken to Rodez , where two men, who had each lost their sons during the French Revolution , travelled to find out whether or not he
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1312-429: The objectives of teaching him to speak and to communicate human emotion. Victor showed significant early progress in understanding language and reading simple words, but failed to progress beyond a rudimentary level. Itard wrote, "Under these circumstances his ear was not an organ for the appreciation of sounds, their articulations and their combinations; it was nothing but a simple means of self-preservation which warned of
1353-475: The proof they needed for the recently popularized empiricist theory of knowledge. In the context of the Enlightenment , when many were debating what exactly distinguished human from animal, one of the most significant factors was the ability to learn language . By studying the boy, they would also be able to explain the relationship between humans and society. The Enlightenment caused many thinkers, including naturalists and philosophers, to believe human nature
1394-623: The teeth, incessant rocking back and forth, and sudden, spasmodic movements. In March 2008, following the disclosure that Misha Defonseca 's best-selling book, later turned into film Survivre avec les loups ('Survival with the Wolves'), was a hoax, there was a debate in the French media (newspapers, radio, and television) concerning the numerous false cases of feral children uncritically believed. Although there are numerous books on this subject, almost none of them have been based on archives, with
1435-474: The wild for most of his life. In 1797, a child of around nine or ten years of age was sighted in the Tarn . Two years later, he was caught by some men and dogs, escorted to the village of Lacaune , and taken in by a widow. He ate nothing except for raw vegetables or vegetables he cooked himself. He ran away after a week. In the winter of 1799, he went from Tarn to Aveyron . On the 6th or 8th of January 1800, he
1476-404: Was a subject that needed to be redefined and looked at from a completely different angle. Because of the French Revolution and new developments in science and philosophy, humans were looked at not as special but as characteristic of their place in nature. It was hoped that by studying the wild boy, this idea would gain support. As such, Victor became a case study in the Enlightenment debate about
1517-436: Was said that even though he had been exposed to society and education, Victor had made little progress at the institution under Sicard. Many people questioned his ability to learn because of his initial state, and as Yousef explains, "it is one thing to say that the [person] of nature is not yet fully human; it is quite another thing to say that the [person] of nature cannot become fully human." After Sicard became frustrated with
1558-435: Was something that, although it did not produce the effects hoped for, did prove to be a step towards new systems of pedagogy . By attempting to learn about the boy who lived in nature, education could be restructured and characterized. Itard has been recognized as the founder of "oral education of the deaf; the field of otolaryngology ; the use of behavior modification with severely impaired children; and special education for
1599-601: Was spotted naked , stooped and with tousled hair by three shoemakers, who took him out of the woods. He ran away, left the woods and was discovered a week later at a dyer's house in Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance . He did not speak and his movements were chaotic. According to the philosopher François Dagognet , 'he walks on four legs, eats plants, is hairy, deaf and mute.' He was sent to an orphanage at Saint-Affrique three days later, then to another at Rodez on 4 February. The psychiatrist Philippe Pinel , doctor at
1640-417: Was the mental and psychological equivalent of someone born deaf and dumb. There would be little point in trying to teach him to speak by the normal means of repeating sounds if he didn't really hear them." Shattuck critiques Itard's process of education, wondering why he never attempted to teach Victor to use sign language . Regardless, today there are certain hypotheses that Shattuck applies to Victor. "One
1681-405: Was their missing son. However, neither claimed the boy. There were other rumours regarding Victor's origins. For example, one rumour insisted the boy was the illegitimate son of a notaire abandoned at a young age because he was mute. Itard believed Victor had "lived in an absolute solitude from his fourth or fifth almost to his twelfth year, which is the age he may have been when he was taken in