Publication Date
2024
Document Type
Book
Description
Werewolves are prevalent in tales throughout Greco-Roman antiquity and the later Middle Ages. While werewolves are typically the main characters in these tales, they are outcasted from society while transformed and only sometimes accepted back when human again. This research aims to explore the various factors contributing to a former werewolf’s acceptance or rejection back into society, specifically by focusing on the werewolf’s class, gender, characteristics while transformed as well as what event transformed them. Ultimately, the results implied that men of higher class who are transformed by women are generally accepted back into society whereas men of lower class who transform themselves are rejected. It was also found the medieval tales to be more sympathetic to the higher-class werewolves while antiquity tales are often unsympathetic. By developing a categorizing method, this research contributes to the overall understanding of antiquity and medieval outcasts and how their literature reflects society’s own reaction of outsiders.
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Recommended Citation
Dascoli, Leah, "Werewolves? There Wolves: Outcast Renegades and Paragons in Tales From Antiquity to the Middle Ages" (2024). Research Days Posters 2024. 27.
https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2024/27