Material Object - Primary and Secondary Artefacts

The Capitoline She Wolf, a 5th-century BCE bronze masterpiece, symbolizes Rome's mythic origins. The dynamic sculpture depicts the she-wolf, coiling protectively around the twins Romulus and Remus (“The Capitoline Wolf”, 2020). The historical and social context of this artefact is deeply rooted in the foundation myth of Rome. According to legend, the she-wolf nursed the abandoned twins, who later founded the great city (“The Capitoline Wolf,” 2020). With an alert expression, bared teeth, and mid-stride pose, the she-wolf embodies both fierceness and nurturing care This artifact not only captures the mastery of its creators but also serves as a tangible link to the culture of ancient Rome.

In tandem, two related objects further enrich the narrative of ancient Roman myth and culture. First, ancient Roman coins featuring the iconic image of a wolf are crucial in establishing the enduring presence of the she-wolf motif (“British Museum”, n.d.). Minted during various periods ranging from the late Roman Republic through the Imperial era, these coins depict the she-wolf nurturing the twins Romulus and Remus, serving as a tangible currency infused with the symbolic power of Rome’s foundational myth. By circulating depictions of the myth on coins used in everyday economic transactions, the story was deeply ingrained in Roman civil and cultural life (Grant, 1952, p. 79). 

The coins highlight how Roman authorities leveraged the she-wolf myth as a means of asserting nationalist propaganda and ideological domination. By consistently reinforcing the lineage between Rome's people and its founders, the imagery on the coins tied Romans’ economic roles and fiscal participation to the narrative of their city’s origins (Grant, 1952, p. 80). The coins, circulated over centuries throughout the vast territory of the Roman empire, underscore the pervasiveness of this myth within Roman society and its integration into the daily lives and collective identity of Roman citizens, whether in the capital city or distant provinces. As one of the most reproduced artifacts of antiquity, the coins demonstrate how Roman elites fused myth, iconography, and economics to shape popular understandings of Rome’s essence and spread its civic religion across borders.

Second, the late medieval woodcut "The Werewolf or the Cannibal", made between 1472-1553, provides a fascinating parallel to the theme of transformation and the interplay between human and animal characteristics embodied by Bisclavret. Attributed to the renowned German artist Lucas Cranach (Cranach, n.d.), this work depicts a haunting scene of a figure transformed into a wolf-like creature, crouching over a corpse with an intensely feral expression. While originating from a different German cultural context than 12th century Anglo-Norman France, the painting highlights the pervasive fascination with werewolf mythology throughout medieval Europe.

Cranach's woodcut presents a key divergence from the depiction of transformation in Bisclavret. Where Bisclavret underscores the lingering humanity within a monstrous form, "The Werewolf or the Cannibal" portrays its subject as a beast utterly overtaken by savage, violent instincts. This contrast underscores the nuanced exploration of shapeshifting and its implications for identity that Marie de France achieved in the Lais. Together, these artifacts illustrate how representations of transformation, a core theme of werewolf legends, manifested differently across time and place in medieval Europe. But they also demonstrate the enduring cultural fascination with the liminal spaces between humans and animals, and order and chaos, across the centuries. In both reinforcing and challenging typical medieval motifs, the works provide layered insights into shifting perspectives on monstrosity, identity and human nature.