The Werewolf in Medieval Romance argues that in Guillaume de Palerne, Bisclavret, Arthur and Gorlagon, Melion, William of Palerne, and Biclarel the werewolf’s identity incorporates a variety of assemblages, including human and animal bodies, and physical spaces and the animate and inanimate beings or objects therein. Whether in lupine or human form, the werewolf’s identity is a perpetual becoming, one with extensive queer, and thus disruptive, potential. Additionally, the werewolf’s identity incorporates political systems and violence, specifically through his status as a knight, prince, and/or king. He is an expression of sovereign power and an extension of the identity the sovereign presents, often functioning as a blunt instrument of the crown.
Renée Ward is a Senior Lecturer of Medieval Literature in the School of Humanities and Heritage at the University of Lincoln, UK. She co-edited The Arthurian World (Routledge) and also co-edits The Year’s Work in Medievalism, the journal of the International Society for the Study of Medievalism.
The Werewolf in Medieval Romance argues that in Guillaume de Palerne, Bisclavret, Arthur and Gorlagon, Melion, William of Palerne, and Biclarel the werewolf’s identity incorporates a variety of assemblages, including human and animal bodies, and physical spaces and the animate and inanimate beings or objects therein. Whether in lupine or human form, the werewolf’s identity is a perpetual becoming, one with extensive queer, and thus disruptive, potential. Additionally, the werewolf’s identity incorporates political systems and violence, specifically through his status as a knight, prince, and/or king. He is an expression of sovereign power and an extension of the identity the sovereign presents, often functioning as a blunt instrument of the crown.
Renée Ward
antiquity cultural theory culture history history of literature literary theory literature Middle Ages