Analysis

The idea of the “werewolf”, or a human that turns into a wolf, is a type of mythical creature that has been present in legends since at least the time of the Roman Empire (Pfeffer 2011). During the Middle Ages, wolves were one of the only creatures, in Europe and Asia, that were commonly able to kill humans. They commanded fear in medieval people, but also a sense of respect. It is no wonder then that throughout history, in cultures where wolves have lived alongside humans, that the concept of a wolf-human hybrid has fascinated nearly every society. The Romans had the wolf-king Lycaon, while the Irish had the werewolves of Offaly. Naturally, a creature that has existed for so long, and in so many different cultures, will over time have fluctuations in the characteristics they are assigned as cultures merge and ideas change within society. The passage from line 139 - 160 of Bisclavret clearly shows that during Mary de France’s lifetime, werewolves were seen as maintaining the mind of a human. Bisclavret, in wolf form, shows that he is still capable of having complex thoughts, emotions, and ideas. While in wolf form he can not talk, but is still able to show his intent, as he kisses the feet of the King in a successful attempt to gain the King's mercy. In similar fashion, the illustration from the story of last rites in Topographia Hibernica shows a similar intelligence in the werewolves of Ireland. The similarities of the werewolves in this passage, as well as in other stories of the era such as Melion, in which a different knight is condemned to be a wolf by his wife though this time through the touch of a ring, show that the characteristics Marie de France’s werewolf was not based merely on her imagination, but on the early medieval attitude towards werewolves. From the human intelligence and emotions that they possess, to the full wolf body, the werewolf of the 12th and 13th centuries was vastly different from the terrifying and dangerous creatures depicted from the 16th century onwards. Overall, the objects demonstrate that the later middle period of the medieval age had a vastly different perspective of werewolves than both before and after the period.