The Werewolf in Medieval Romance

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.

About the author

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.

Product details

• Authors: Renée Ward, Renée Ward
• Publisher: Springer Palgrave Macmillan
• Content: Book
• Product form: Hardback
• Publication date: 27.09.2025
• Subject: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies
• EAN: 9781137501547
• ISBN: 978-1-137-50154-7
• Pages: 264
• Illustrations: XV, 264 p.
• Dimensions (packing): 14.8 x 1.8 x 21 cm
• Weight (packing): 455 g
• Series: The New Middle Ages
• Subjects: Literaturtheorie, Europa, Kulturwissenschaften, Literature, History, Culture, Europe, Europäische Geschichte: Mittelalter, antiquity, literarytheory, historyofliterature, MiddleAges, MedievalLiterature, culturaltheory