The real story behind 'Beauty and the Beast' is nothing like the movie you love! (Learn the story)
Everyone loves the story of Beauty and the Beast, where Disney's version of the story was well accepted enough to become the first animated film nominated for best film, which takes place in France in the 18th century when a witch turns a prince into a bloody monster because he refused to receive it in his castle, and on the other hand there is a girl named Bell, the beast meets her when she goes to the palace to free her father detained by the beast, in exchange for holding his place and falling in love with her. Later the beast, despite its permity, returns to its natural form after knowing the meaning of love that it did not know before.
But some people think that the romantic tale is partly based on a true story - and this story is very dark!
The hero of the story of beauty and the real beast
The story is championed by a man who lived in the era of King Henry II, Pedro Gonzalez, who was born in Tenerife in 1537, just over 40 years after the invasion of Spain and the enslavement of the indigenous population.
Pedro was born with a rare disorder that made him fully covered in hair, and was given to Henry II of France as a gift.
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According to the Smithsonian, the French thought he was a real monster, kept him in a cage, and fed him raw meat and animal feed. They also changed his name to the luxurious Latin version, Petros Gonsalves.
| 'Torture of Petros Gonsalves' |
Known today as Ambras syndrome, an extremely rare condition, believed to affect less than one in every billion people in the world, only about 50 to 100 cases have been recorded since the Middle Ages.
Some people who have suffered from Ambras syndrome throughout the ages
Although some have become famous, such as Choi Maung of Burma, who married his country's royal family in the 19th century, many were ostracized and forced to become artists at circus shows, and things are not necessarily much better today.
' Choi Maung '
In 2011, 12-year-old Supatra Sasovan was named "the most hairy girl in the world" in the Guinness Book of Records, a label that she noted was a step higher than other names she called her, such as "Wolf Girl" and "Monkey Face."
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' Supatra Sasovhan ' |
As an experiment, King Henry II took Petros out of his cage, dressed him in the finest clothes, and began to give him the same education as the nobles of that period.
Outstanding boy education included military training, etiquette, speech, reading, and writing. It turned out to be a miracle, and mastered three languages, including Latin. Petros became a celebrity, as royal dignitaries and ambassadors flocked to meet him.
King Henry was pleased with what Petros had reached, promoted him, and Petros eventually became a high-ranking member of the King's present. But it was never seen as truly equal in court, which became clear when the king died suddenly.
After Henry II's death, his wife Catherine de Medici became a guardian of the throne and decided to conduct her own harsh experience, marrying Petros from the daughter of a beautiful maid to see if they could have more hairy children.
The bride, also named Catherine, reportedly did not know who she was getting married until she reached the altar. Catherine and Petros ended up having seven children - four of whom already had Ambras syndrome. The Queen was happy, as she now has four other people to show off at parties like trained pets. Despite the insults, there were some privileges to live in court, such as home and income.
They lost all these privileges when the Queen died in 1589. Petros and his family were forced to walk the road to visit places such as Bologna, Parma, Ferrara and Rome. While traveling, the noble courts they visited treated them as curious hikers. They reportedly received good compensation for entertaining their hosts, but some blond-haired children were handed over to distant rulers, possibly to ensure their safety and financial future. All this travel has made the Gonsalves family among the most famous individuals in Europe.
It was widely studied by leading scientific bodies at the time, which treated them with much greater respect than the general public, who still viewed the family as little more than savages or even animals.
However, they have become a kind of cultural sensation, and no wealthy family has been completed without a painted portrait of Petros or one of his famous descendants - which is why there are so many pictures of them to date. According to History vs. Hollywood, after traveling around Europe for years, the remaining family members settled in Parma, Italy, where they were worked by Duke Ranuccio Varnisi.
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' Duke Ranuccio Varnisi ' |
The last mention of Petros was in 1617 when he attended the christening of one of his grandchildren and there is no record of his death, but there is evidence of Katherine's death in 1623. It is also believed that at least one of Gonsalvos's hairy daughters married and gave birth to her children.
While they have been married for 40 years and have seven children, people still wonder if Katherine and Petros really loved each other.
Historians have noted that painters used this gesture to show true affection between husbands and wives, so it is possible that their relationship was really a good basis for the love story in Beauty and the Beast.
- A novel by Gabriel Susan de Felliniov dating back to 1740 from which the Disney version of the film was made.
- A documentary for Al Jazeera called "The Return of beauty and the beast":
- A documentary by Larry Gomez, one of the syndrome patients, who managed to become a hollywood movie werewolf:
- Beauty and the Beast ( 2017).
