The Shape of Morality: Transformed Bodies as Sites of Moral Instruction in Gervase of Tilbury’s Otia Imperialia and Gerald of Wales’s Topographia Hibernica
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Many stories of monstrous humans survive to us from the medieval Latin West. These stories, known as mirabilia (tales of marvels), were used to inspire admiratio (wonder) in audiences, and aid in their reception of edifying messages within the text. Stories of human–animal transformations leant on the meanings of animals as symbols, and transposed these meanings onto the humans they discussed. This article examines human–animal transformations in the works of Gervase of Tilbury (c.1150–1220) and Gerald of Wales (c.1146–1223) through analysis of various medieval writings on wolves, cats, and rabbits, offering an insight into the moral messages of medieval marvel texts.
Source: Folklore
Author: Christopher White
Language: English
Subfield: Classics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7164207162