Material Objects

This artifact is an illustration done on parchment from the Bestiary and Lapidary, published by the British Library. It depicts the age-old cautionary tale of the wolf: if a wolf were to see a person before the person sees the wolf, said person would become mute. Here, a man is attempting to reverse the curse and regain his voice by stripping off his clothes, stomping on the clothes, then finding two stones and clashing them against one another. Created in South-Eastern England during c1230, the illustration allows a glimpse into the portrayal of wolves of the time period and further supports the use of clothing to symbolize humanity. 

This artifact is a parchment illustration of cynocephali in the Kiev Psalter of 1397, published by the National Library of Russia. The Medieval West piece depicts dog-headed creatures (cynocephalli), dressed in clothes, interacting with another human figure and also highlights the symbolism of clothes and humanity. While holding the physical form of a creature, the cynocephally is often portrayed in art wearing clothes. This is significant because while humans were typically represented clothed, beasts were naked- raising the narrative that clothing serves as both a physical and symbolic barrier separating human from beast (Veen 2021, 54). Further connecting clothing and humanity, there were many notable figures who classified the cynocephali as human such as Ratramnus of Corbie, a Corbie monk of the ninth century (Ottewill-Soulsby 2021).

Yet another illustration on parchment, this artifact was published by the British Library and showcases a scene from the medieval tale, Werewolves of Ossory, by Gerald of Wales: two werewolves- a husband and wife- and a priest, who is performing final rites on the sick wife. This tale presents the werewolves with very human-like characteristics such as intelligence and gentleness. Under their cloak of wolf fur, the husband and wife are human. Hence, the artifact serves to highlight that Bisclavret was not the only medieval character who, while in creature-form, was still able to remain more human than beast in mind.