Dr Renée Ward, Senior Lecturer in Medieval Literature and Medievalism (LSHH), is pleased to announce the release of her monograph ‘The Werewolf in Medieval Romance’ with Palgrave Macmillan’s New Middle Ages series.

The volume examines six medieval romances, in Old French, Latin, and Middle English—Guillaume de Palerne, Bisclavret, Arthur and Gorlagon, Melion, William of Palerne, and Biclarel—and argues that within these narratives, 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.

Individuals interested in werewolves (of course!) and the boundaries between humans and non-human beings and objects, medieval romance and culture, violence, and martial figures might want to peruse its pages…

See: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-49624-9

Story submitted by Renée Ward
rward@lincoln.ac.uk