The white devil : the werewolf in European culture / Matthew Beresford.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beresford, Matthew.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Werewolves--History.

Werewolves.

Werewolves--Europe--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (264 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London : Reaktion Books, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From Ovid's Lycaon to Professor Lupin, from Teen Wolf to An American Werewolf in Paris, the lycanthrope, or werewolf, comes to us frequently on the page and the silver screen. These interpretations often display lycanthropy as a curse, with the afflicted person becoming an uncontrollable, feral beast during every full moon. But this is just one version of the werewolf-its origins can be traced back thousands of years to early prehistory, and everything from Iron Age bog bodies and Roman gods to people such as Joan of Arc, Adolf Hitler, and Sigmund Freud feature in its story. Exploring the role of this odd assortment of ideas and people in the myth, The White Devil tracks the development of the werewolf from its birth to the present day, seeking to understand why the wolf curse continues to hold a firm grip on the modern imagination. Combining early death and burial rites, mythology, folklore, archaeological evidence, and local superstitions, Matthew Beresford explains that the werewolf has long been present in the beliefs and mythology of the many cultures of Europe. He examines prehistoric wolf cults, the use of the wolf as a symbol of ancient Rome, medieval werewolf executions, and the eradication of wolves by authorities in England during the Anglo-Saxon period. He also surveys werewolf trials, medical explanations, and alleged sightings, as well as the instances in which lycanthropes appear in literature and film. With sixty illustrations of these often terrifying-but sometimes noble-beasts, The White Devil offers a new understanding of the survival of the werewolf in European culture.

Contents:

Of man and beast : the prehistoric cults of Europe

The wolves of Rome : classic accounts of the werewolf myth

Fists of fury : the wolves of Germania

The medieval werewolf

A cruel and savage beast : the werewolf in folklore

Of wolf and man : werewolf cases from Europe

Methods to the madness : medical explanations of the werewolf myth

Evolution creates dissolution : the end of the myth?

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-256) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed December 4, 2013).

ISBN:

9781780232058

1780232055

OCLC:

861693363