Description
Book SynopsisThe complex attitude to the wolf in the Middle Ages re-evaluated, bringing together historical and other evidence. The wolf, a common metaphor for vice in medieval Christian literature, is today an iconic symbol of the intense fear and insecurity that some associate with the middle ages. In reality, responses to wolves varied across medieval Europe. Although not dependent on the wilderness, wolves were conceptually linked to this environment - which although on the fringes of medieval society, became increasingly exploited from the eighth to fourteenth centuries, so bringing people and livestock closer to the wolf. This book compares responses to wolves, focusing on two regions, Britain and southern Scandinavia. It looks at the distribution of wolves in the landscape, their potential impact as predators on both animals and people, and their use as commodities, in literature, art, cosmology and identity. It also investigates the reasons (both practical and cultural) for the eradication of wolves in England, but their survival on the Scandinavian peninsula. ALEKSANDER PLUSKOWSKI is Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology, University of Reading,
Trade ReviewA very interesting interdisciplinary approach of human-wolf interactions during the Middle Ages, highlighting some practical factors and the role of religion in its eradication. * MAMMALIA *
A highly interesting, original, and informative account of the medieval wolf and wilderness. * SIXTEENTH CENTURY JOURNAL *
This book is a significant achievement. Anyone who wants to understand how humans interacted with the natural world in the Middle Ages would do well to read it. * SPECULUM *
Very novel, being one of the first studies to address specific human-animal-landscape relationships in order to inform on cultural practice and ideology in the past. * JOURNAL OF MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY *
Weaves a story that enchants. Through these pages the vital wolf-essence bounds across the landscapes of stone, tapestry, vellum, metal and mortal imagination. * FORTEAN TIMES *
Table of ContentsInto the Woods: The Physical Wolf in the Landscape Lupine Landscapes: Physical Wilderness in Medieval Britain and Scandinavia Lupine Landscapes II: Conceptualising Medieval Wilderness Wolves, Game and Livestock: Predation and Conflict Wolves and People: Hunting the Hunters Breaking the Lupine Body: Wolves as Commodities Ravenous and Gullible: Wolves in Medieval Beast Literature Lupine Identities: The Emblematic Wolf From ódinn to St. Edmund: Wolves in Pagan and Christian Cosmologies Transgressing Boundaries through Bestial Violence: Human Wolves
