Shapeshifting narratives appear in cultures all over the world, throughout human history. At each point, these narratives give expression to culturally contingent anxieties and preoccupations. This study examines shapeshifting narratives in early medieval England and Ireland in order to uncover what preoccupations informed the meaning of 'shapeshifting', and also what social functions these shapeshifting narratives could serve. It begins with a lexical analysis of the verbs and nouns most associated with shapeshifting narratives; then, it examines shapeshifting narratives on the one hand, and comparisons between humans and animals on the other; finally, the study turns to the sociocultural role of shapeshifting narratives. It demonstrates that, although shapeshifting manifests differently in English and Irish contexts, the importance of performance, in particular the proper performance of in-group behaviour, is a consistent theme between them. Often, shapeshifting narratives visually confirm or demonstrate changes that have already taken place. Although the transformation of a human into something else would appear to break the natural order, such a wondrous disruption ultimately reveals divine power, and reinforces the divine order.
Author(s): Gwendolyne Knight
Publisher: Stockholm University
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 210
Acknowledgements 1
Abbreviations 3
Chapter 1: Introduction 6
Background 6
Research Aims and Questions 11
Previous Research 13
Discourses of the Body 13
Shapeshifting and Werewolf Studies 16
Theology and History of Religion 23
Theory and Methodology 24
'Eine Geschichtswissenschaft in anthropologischer Zielrichtung' 26
Comparison between Early Medieval England and Ireland 32
Source Material and Source Criticism 33
Works of Wonder and Philosophy 36
Hagiography and Related Religious Narrative 38
Epic Narrative and Poetry 41
Implications 43
Disposition and Presentation 45
Chapter 2: Transformations of Spirit and Body 47
Verbs of Transformation 50
Nouns Transforming 72
Discussion 82
Differentiation of Concepts and Semantic Overlaps 82
Turning, Conversion, and Metaphor 82
Shape, Form, and Natura 83
Conclusion 84
Chapter 3: Humans and Animals, Humans as Animals 87
Animals in Early Medieval England and Ireland 89
Humans into Animals 96
Serial Shapeshifting 106
Where Wolves? 107
Souls of the Dead as Birds 112
Animals into Humans 115
Secular Transformation 115
Transformations in Religious Narratives 116
Animals into Animals 117
Shapeshifting 'in verbis' 118
Implied Metamorphosis 118
Behavioural Transformations 120
Discussion 124
Loss and Gain of Human Status 124
Wild vs. Domestic Animals in Transformation 126
Conclusions 126
Chapter 4: Marginality of Metamorphosis 128
Disability and Body Theory 129
Monster Theory 131
Social Identity Theory 133
Change of Social Status 135
Performance of Human Status 138
Educating Religious Behaviour 141
Physical and Abstract Transformation 143
It’s an Illusion! Perception and Society 144
Normalized Boundary Transgressions 146
Discussion 147
Conclusions 151
Chapter 5: Breaking Order to Reveal Order 152
Shapeshifting Narratives as Conversion Narratives 157
Human Transformations and the Performance of Human Status 158
Transformation and Concepts of Change 160
Cultural Significances: Why Write about Shapeshifting 162
Methodological Evaluation 163
Concluding Remarks 163
Appendix 1: List of Transformations 167
Table 1: Transformations of Humans 167
Table 2: Transformations by Humans 169
Summary 171
Sammanfattning 177
Bibliography 183
Manuscripts Cited 183
Printed Sources 183
Image Sources 188
Electronic Publications 188
Literature 189
