A Lycanthropy Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture
by Charlotte F. Otten (Editor)
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Our understanding of lycanthropy is limited by our association of it with contemporary portrayals of werewolves in horror films and gothic fiction. No rational person today believes that a human being can literally be metamorphosed into a wolf; therefore, in the absence of an historical context, the study of werewolves can appear to be a wayward pursuit of the perversely irrational and the sensational.This Reader provides the historical context. Drawing on primary sources, it is a show more comprehensive survey of all aspects of lycanthropy, with a focus on the medieval and Renaissance periods. Lycanthropes were on trial in the courtrooms of Europe, and on examination in medical offices and mental hospitals; they were the objects of communal fear and pity, and the subjects of sermons and philosophical treatises.In the Introduction to the Reader, Charlotte Otten shows that the study of lycanthropy uncovers basic issues in human life the significance of violence and criminality, the role of the demonic in aberrant behavior, and ultimately the nature of good and evil. The implications for modern life are immediately apparent.The Reader is divided into six sections: (I) Medical Cases, Diagnoses, Descriptions; (2) Trial Records, Historical Accounts, Sightings; (3) Philosophical and Theological Approaches to Metamorphosis; (4) Critical Essays on Lycanthropy (Anthropology, History, and Medicine); (5) Myths and Legends; and (6) Allegory. Each section has an introduction that summarizes and interprets the materials. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
With very little, if any original writing, this anthology reads more like a hardbound coursepack than a study. This may have had some value in 1986, but the same work could be accomplished now with a decent website, which, moreover, could ask advanced students to provide their own translation of the Walter Scott-meets-Malory-meets-Joseph Smith archaized translation of the Latin Arthur and Gorlagon. If ever a translation needed to be updated, this is it.
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Status updates -
5/29/2012, page 11: Slow progress only because fiction TBR pile keeps calling my name.
6/11/2012, page 53: Medical cases and diagnoses = drugs seem to be primary treatment and "cure." How common lycanthropes were in the past and how often Satan was blamed.
6/12/2012, page 336: Detailed collection of cases, reports and essays. Enjoyed Otten's summaries at the beginning of each section. Particularly interesting were Section IV - Critical Essays and Section V - Myths and Legends. Would like to buy a copy of this one.
6/12/2012, page 337: If I could break out my highlighter here's one I would:
"As a long line of thinkers from Aristotle to Sir Philip Sidney have observed, history is tied 'to the particular truth show more of things, and not to the general reason of things' (Sidney, The Defence of Poesie). Because myth transcends historical events, it can give penetrating insights into all human life... (p. 225)." show less
Status updates -
5/29/2012, page 11: Slow progress only because fiction TBR pile keeps calling my name.
6/11/2012, page 53: Medical cases and diagnoses = drugs seem to be primary treatment and "cure." How common lycanthropes were in the past and how often Satan was blamed.
6/12/2012, page 336: Detailed collection of cases, reports and essays. Enjoyed Otten's summaries at the beginning of each section. Particularly interesting were Section IV - Critical Essays and Section V - Myths and Legends. Would like to buy a copy of this one.
6/12/2012, page 337: If I could break out my highlighter here's one I would:
"As a long line of thinkers from Aristotle to Sir Philip Sidney have observed, history is tied 'to the particular truth show more of things, and not to the general reason of things' (Sidney, The Defence of Poesie). Because myth transcends historical events, it can give penetrating insights into all human life... (p. 225)." show less
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- 398.369974442 — Society, Government, and Culture Customs, etiquette & folklore Folklore & Folktales Real phenomena as subjects of folklore Scientific themes Animals
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