>>28952729So basically salamanders were mythical creatures to most European peasants because they are nocturnal and during the day they would hide in wood piles and rotten logs. The only times peasants would see a salamander was when they would be running out of the fireplace/pit because the log they were hiding in was burning.
This led people to assume that salamanders were spontaneously created by fire, and with Christianity that had some very demonic implications. Even before it, it was seriously weird and freaked people out. St. Augustine even used the existence of salamanders as proof that hell could be real, since salamanders live in flames yet do not burn therefore someone could be damned to hellfire eternally without being consumed by flames.
Salamanders are also toxic, which became well known when dogs or cats died after eating them as they were running from the flames. But the toxicity was greatly exaggerated in many rural parts of France. It was considered common knowledge that if a salamander touched water it would poison the whole body instantly, if a salamander climbed a fruit tree it would poison the fruit. Myth held that the only way to kill a salamander was to lock it in a box until it choked on its own poison. In Breton culture even to name the salamander was considered bad luck and inviting the best into your home.
