Introduction

His eye, distinguishing, could see

the king; to beg his clemency 

he seized the royal stirrup, put

a kiss upon the leg and foot. 

The king, observing, felt great fear. 

Calling his men, he cried, "Come here!"

“Lords!” he said, "Come and look at this!

See what a marvel is this kiss, 

this humble, gracious gesturing!

That's a man's mind; it begs the king

for mercy. Now, drive back the hounds! 

See that none strike or give it wounds. 

This beast has mind: it has intent. 

Come, hurry up! It's time we went. 

I’ll give protection for this beast. 

And for today, the hunt has ceased.” 

The king had turned around, at that; 

following him, the bisclavret 

close by: he would not lose the king, 

abandon him, for anything. 

The king then led the beast, to bring

it to the castle, marvelling, 

rejoicing at it, for he'd never,

seen such a wondrous creature, ever. 

He loved the wolf and held it dear 

and he charged every follower 

that, for his love, they guard it well 

and not mistreat the animal. 

No one must strike it; and, he'd said, 

it must be watered and well fed. (Puchner 145-174)

The passage is taken from the poem “Bisclavret”, one of the twelve “Lais of Marie de France”. A knight is betrayed by his wife and is trapped as a werewolf. In this passage, the king is hunting the werewolf but has mercy when the werewolf begs like a human. Realizing that the werewolf has a “man’s mind”(Puchner 155), the king takes the werewolf and offers him food, water, and protection. The artifact selected is a page from a manuscript of Gerald of Wales’ Topographica Hibernica. The text is Latin written in gothic script. The image depicts the Werewolves of Orrisory. A priest is performing communion for a dying woman who was cursed to transform into a wolf. In both the passage and the artifact, someone is recognizing the humanity in a werewolf and extending mercy. Both show the conflict between the unhuman physical appearance of a monster and the human behaviour and mind. The passage from “Bisclavret” depicts the werewolf as intelligent, loyal, and nonviolent. Similarly, the Werewolves of Orrisory are depicted as civilized and pious. The passage and the artifact question what it means to be human and how humans differentiate themselves from other creatures. Both ask whether humanity is determined by physical appearance or by behaviour. Additionally, both stories use the monster to offer humans the opportunity to show their humanity. This exhibit will examine how the werewolf is portrayed in the passage, take a slow look at the primary object and two others, and a final analysis of the passage and object.