Introduction
Passage from Bisclavret from Lais of Marie de France line 5 to 22 (pp.299):
“One used to hear, in times gone by
--it often happened actually--
men became werewolves, many men,
and in the forest made their den.
A werewolf is a savage beast;
in his blood-rage, he makes a feast
of men, devours them, does great harms,
and in vast forests lives and roams.
Well, for now, let us leave all that;
I want to speak of Bisclavret.
In Brittany, there lived a lord
--wondrous, the praise of him I've heard--
a good knight, handsome, known to be
all that makes for nobility.
Prized, he was, much, by his liege lord;
by all his neighbors were adored.
He'd wed a wife, a worthy soul,
most elegant and beautiful;
he loved her, and she loved him, too.”
From ancient tales, childhood stories, and Hollywood movies werewolves have been portrayed as villainous, dangerous, and cruel creatures whose lust is to kill anyone in sight whereas humans have been portrayed as heroic, brave, and kind for taking down the evil creatures who roam the night. However, this is not always true as sometimes werewolves can be more human than humans themselves, they can also have characteristics such as loyalty, love, and empathy to emphasize their humanity. Marie de France, a French poet explores this theme of whether the physical aspects of a human or the actions and values are proof of humanity. Leading to the question, do you have to look human to act human? This theme is explored throughout the Lais of Marie de France, written in the 12th century, which features short poems that are narrated by her. Her most famous and the one I will be arguing for today is the poem Bisclavret which is set in Brittany, France.
In my selected passage above we are introduced to our main protagonist and monster Bisclavret, a noble soldier loved by all in Brittany who secretly shapeshifts to a werewolf weekly through the removal of his clothes and his wife, who is oblivious to Bisclavret’s secret, known as a loving and caring woman (Bisclavret, Marie de France Eds. Puchner, Akbari, Denecke, Fuchs, Levine, Lewis, and Wilson, pp. 299). Throughout the story, we are guided through Bisclavret’s struggle and emotions of being a werewolf as his wife betray him condemning him to be stuck in his wolf form and how he is able to return back to humans through the help of the king (Bisclavret, pp.299-305). We see themes of betrayal, humanity, savagery, and devotion explored in the poem as we the readers try and grasp who the actual monster is, Bisclavret or his wife? And question what values make us human. Alongside the analysis of the poem, I will present three objects to support my argument, the first being my primary object which features images from the manuscript Topographia Hiberniae by Gerald of Wales which features images of a priest and two married werewolves. My second object is a woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder featuring an image of a presumed werewolf cannibalizing in human form. My last object is an image from the manuscript Royal MS 12 F XIII which features wolves and a man taking his clothes off to regain his voice. My primary object along with the secondary objects share common themes and ideologies such as clothing representing humanity, empathy, and monstrosity. The analysis and deep focus of Bisclavret along with the objects unveil a focus on what is humanity, leading to what we define as the tipping point between a monster and a human.
In conclusion, this exhibit will demonstrate how Marie de France uses and emphasizes Bisclavret, a werewolf and his wife, a human, through their values and characteristics to showcase what humanity truly is defined as. Thus, presenting the argument that it’s your actions, not your outward appearance that defies you as human.