Author: Minjie Su
Title: Werewolves in Old Norse-Icelandic Literature. Between the Monster and the Man
Description: Brepols, 2023 Hardback, 227 pages, Size:156 x 234 mm, Illustrations:13 b/w, Language: English. ISBN 9782503596006. ¶ Summary At the heart of any story of metamorphosis lies the issue of identity, and the tales of the werwulf (lit. 'man-wolf') are just as much about the wolf as about the man. What are the constituents of the human in general? What symbolic significance do they hold? How do they differ for different types of human? How would it affect the individual if one or more of these elements were to be subtracted? Focusing on a group of Old Norse-Icelandic werewolf narratives, many of which have hitherto been little studied, this insightful book sets out to answer these questions by exploring how these texts understood and conceptualized what it means to be human. At the heart of this investigation are five factors key to the werewolf existence ?skin, clothing, food, landscape, and purpose ? and these are innovatively examined through a cross-disciplinary approach that carefully teases apart the interaction between two polarizations: the external and social, and the interior and psychological. Through this approach, the volume presents a comprehensive new look at the werewolf not only as a supernatural creature and a literary motif, but also as a metaphor that bears on the relationship between human and non-human, between Self and Other, and that is able to situate the Old-Norse texts into a broader intellectual discourse that extends beyond medieval Iceland and Norway. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Werewolves in Old Norse-Icelandic Literature Werewolves in the Franco-Latin Tradition Texts in Focus Goals and Structure Chapter 1: Þeir fóru í hamina The Werewolf's Skin The Skin's Position in Werewolf Literature The Skin's Position in the Appearance-Essence Binary The Skin of the Old Norse-Icelandic Werewolves Ála flekks saga: A Case Study From lupus to leprosus Chapter 2: Klæddr eða Nokkuiðr The Werewolf's Clothing and the She-Wolf The Clothes-Body Dynamics: The Man-Wolf The Clothes-Body Dynamics: The Metaphorical She-Wolf Dress: Definition, Classification, Function From Naked to Clothed: The Knight From Clothed to Naked: The Lady Chapter 3: Et ek þeirra hold The Werewolf's Food and Food Taboo What and How Does a Wolf Eat? Food and Taboo: What Werewolf Does or Does not Eat Tabooed Food and Tabooed Sex: The She-Wolf's Appetite The Scale of the Werewolf's (Possible) Food: The Acceptable The Point of No Return: Human and Horse Flesh Chapter 4: Á skóg með hryggðum The Werewolf's Landscape and Mindscape Theories and Tools: The Foundation Mapping the Werewolf's Mindscape: An Overview Úlfhams rímur: A Tale of Generations Úlfhams rímur: Dark Land, Dark Mind Chapter 5: From Monstratus to Monstrare The Werewolf's Purpose Classification of the Characters (Were)wolf as Learner: monstratus The Disguised Hero as Learner/monstratus, or the Werewolf's Pupil Wolf as Teacher: monstrare The Konungs skuggsjá Werewolves: The Foundations The Konungs skuggsjá Werewolves: Teaching (of) the Wolf Conclusion What Can We Learn from the Wolf? Works Cited Index.

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