Werewolf Histories

Johannes Dillinger, Oxford Brookes University, UKMatteo Duni, Syracuse University in Florence, ItalyRichard L. Gordon, University of Erfurt, GermanyMerili Metsvahi, University of Tartu, EstoniaMaja Pasari?, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, CroatiaAleks Pluskowski, University of Reading, UKRolf Schulte, University of Kiel, GermanyMichèle Simonsen, University of Copenhagen, DenmarkChrista Agnes Tuczay, University of Vienna, AustriaRita Voltmer, University of Trier, Germany

• 1. The Differentiated Werewolf: An Introduction to Cluster Methodology; Willem de Blecourt 2. Good to Think: Wolves and Wolf-men in the Graeco-Roman World; Richard Gordon 3. Into the Wild: Old Norse Stories of Animal Men; Christa Agnes Tuczay 4. Before the Werewolf Trials: Contextualising Shape Changers and Animal Identities in Medieval North-Western Europe; Aleksander Pluskowski Interlude: Wolf-Riding 5. "What About Some Good Wether?" Witches and Werewolves in 16th Century Italy; Matteo Duni 6. "Species", "Phantasia", "Raison": Werewolves and Shape-shifters in Demonological Literature; Johannes Dillinger 7. The Judge's Lore? The Politico-Religious Concept of Metamorphose in the Peripheries of Western Europe; Rita Voltmer 8. The Werewolf in the Popular Culture of Early Modern Germany; Rolf Schulte Interlude: The Shepherd of Wolves 9. Estonian Werewolf History; Merili Metsvahi 10. The Werewolf in Nineteenth-Century Denmark; Michele Simonsen 11. Dead Bodies and Transformations: Werewolves in Some South Slavic Folk Traditions; Maja Pasaric

“Werewolf Histories is a fascinating look at thediversity of beliefs about werewolves, and a valuable reminder of the differentcontexts in which these beliefs occur. … Werewolf Histories is packed withfascinating analysis of an under-examined piece of folklore. It’s particularlycompelling because of the way in which it looks at the phenomenon of werewolfbelief from several different scholarly perspectives.” (James Holloway, ForteanTimes, Vol. 335, December, 2015)'The volume's aims, as outlined in de Blécourt's introductory essay, are met by the essays collected, particularly the stated intention to mark a 'transition from popular werewolf publications to academic historical perspectives'. The clear and nuanced historical perspectives presented certainly set the volume apart from the putative 'werewolf history' presented in the popular publications that are commonly cited in studies of contemporary literary and cinematic werewolves.' Hannah Priest, Swansea University, UK