Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Abbé Adam


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.  

The result was keep. - Bobet 11:31, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

Abbé Adam

 * Delete: Appears unverifiable. My best attempt at Googling,, returned nothing related. —Wknight94 (talk) 10:55, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Delete I can't find any reliable sources. The story appears in a French blog (brace yourself before viewing).  %22Vaux de Cernay%22 abbe diable&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1.  The Abbé is mentioned at.
 * Weak Keep Story derives from a 19th century book - I'll add the ref to the article.  Dl yo ns 493   Ta lk  11:59, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
 * If you have access to the book, can you also add some context? Is it a fictional story or what? —Wknight94 (talk) 12:19, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Comment At the moment, and based solely on the French blog, although I think one need not doubt the authenticity of the Abbé Adam, it is certainly questionable as to whether or not this chap is sufficiently notable to warrant an article. Needs looking into a little more.  Marcus22 20:48, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Weak Delete The Abbé is a genuine historical persona but he looks to have become mixed up with fiction. References are few. Not sufficiently notable.  Marcus22 21:02, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Keep. The article derives from Lewis Spence's Encyclopedia of the Occult, one of the standard reference works on the subject. I have added the reference. Not appearing on Google is not a criterion for deletion. As to being fictional or not, the article says "according to legend". In the Middle Ages, and particularly relating to religious "events", fact and fiction could easily become confused, and this story was apparently well-known at the time. -- Necrothesp 22:48, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Comment Spence is just quoting the much earlier French sources which I added to the article. (but he's probably more accessible to an English-speaking readership than they are).  The article is really about a legend which is one of very many similar ones, rather than about the genuine historical person about whom we have virtually no other information. There's an argument for a merge into some sort of Medieval Legends article but I don't know of any suitable one offhand.   Dl yo ns 493   Ta lk
 * Comment: I'd request that someone give some context and explain this mix of fact and fiction in the article. I am still confused about what this article is really about.  This and a total lack of sources at the time are what led me to AFD in the first place.  —Wknight94 (talk) 01:56, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Comment. Sorry to be obtuse, but I'm unsure what you're confused about. The first paragraph says he lived. The second paragraph begins according to legend. Where's the confusion? He was a really person who became well-known due to a story about him. This was not at all uncommon, particularly in the Middle Ages, and I would have thought it was fairly obvious that a story about driving off the Devil was not hard and fast fact! -- Necrothesp 17:19, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
 * That last edit was perfect clarification, thanks. More details about dates and places of birth and death would be nice but I figure they're not available. —Wknight94 (talk) 21:05, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Delete. Not verifiable. -- Marwatt 18:22, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Comment. How can it possibly be "not verifiable" when it's referenced? -- Necrothesp 21:38, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Keep per Necrothesp. Angus McLellan (Talk) 12:31, 14 September 2006 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.