Introduction

The werewolf is an extremely well-documented creature from a plethora of different cultures’ folktales, including Germanic, Nordic, Frank, and British mythologies. As is often the literal description in such tales, the werewolf is a human, typically a man, who transforms into a humanoid creature with the physical or behavioural attributes of a wolf. The differences in definition across cultures play an important role in this essay and will be touched on later, but it is important to note that certain traditions describe werewolves as humanoid wolves that retain their human attributes, while others utilise depictions of wild men acting like wolves or animals but retaining their human features. 

Marie de France, a poet from France but living in England, wrote a series of tales and poems in the 12th century covering a variety of topics, from Biblical epics to recounts of Breton myths. One such myth is the lay titled Bisclavret, a tale following a nobleman who disappears for three days each week to transform into a bisclavret, or werewolf, and upon telling his wife his secret she betrays his trust and ensures he cannot turn back into a man by hiding his clothes. After a year of being trapped in his wolf form, the nobleman is hunted by the king and his posse who wish to kill it; in order to save his life, the bisclavret grovels at the king’s feet to show his subservience and instead of killing him, the king takes him on as a sort of pet. Eventually the bisclavret’s old wife shows up at the palace with her new suitor, also one of the king’s noblemen, and the bisclavret attacks them prompting the king to extract the truth from the wife. She reveals the story and he is returned to his original state, and the wife is banished from the kingdom. 

Marie de France provides a definition of a werewolf in the opening lines of her lay, saying that, “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.” (Bisclavret, 9-12) This description provides the reader with an understanding of the basic actions of such creatures; killing men, being beasts with wild habits, and living in nature. However, as the lay goes on to reveal, this is but one portion of the werewolf’s definition, as the bisclavret shows human feelings and actions while being trapped in wolf form. This contrast between her definition and the title character’s actions throughout Marie de France’s story show a complicated aspect of the werewolf definition, something that is clear across other culture’s renditions as well.

It is obvious from the tale that Marie de France’s Breton rendition of a werewolf is one of physical manifestation and change; the artefact on display below, however, is an example of how another culture depicted werewolves. The concept of “wild men” was widespread throughout many cultures during the mediaeval period, and can be found in ancient cultures as well. However, in Germanic folklore, wild men often took the actions and mental characteristics of wolves, hunting and eating other humans and living in the woods. While there are still many different depictions of werewolves in regions of present-day Germany, the artefact attached shows one of the most prominent; a wild man acting as a wolf, eating human children and retreating to the woods. From the 1500s, the wood-cut image depicts a classic Germanic “wild man” or werewolf attacking a homestead and eating human babies, as wolves had been known to do. He is seen crawling on all fours and taking his spoils into the woods, and while he appears to be a man, he has every trait of a werewolf and this presents a fascinating connection between such depictions and Marie de France’s. 

These many connections, similarities, and differences between the lay, monster, and artefact provide an analyzer with many interesting perspectives on how the three may correlate. This essay will argue one such theory, focusing on the core concept of the werewolf throughout varying cultures; that the werewolf as a monster is fundamentally based upon a human returning to their base animalistic instincts, rejecting civilised society and embracing living as an animal. Manifesting through comparisons to wolves and their behaviour, the definition of a werewolf varied throughout cultures between strictly physical transformations and psychological changes. These claims can be clearly applied to the provided artefacts and lai, as the comparisons between the different portrayals of werewolves can be seen as well as the similarities in fundamental aspects of the being.