The Wolf. A Cultural History

A new work by the well-known French historian of the Middle Ages, Michel Pastoureau, prepared and edited by Mikhail Maisuls—one of the co-authors of “The Suffering Middle Ages”—and translated from French by Stanislav Mukhamedzhanov. This illustrated edition is dedicated to the wolf as a key symbol in European cultural tradition. Known since ancient times, the wolf appears in numerous myths and legends—from the Roman she-wolf that fed Romulus and Remus, to Fenrir connected with Nordic mythology, and many stories about transformations and werewolves—these are only a small part of its significance. In the medieval period, people’s perception of the wolf evolves: from an object of fear it becomes a comic hero, tricked by other animals and unsuccessfully chased by hunters. But with the arrival of the Modern Age, fear of the wolf returns, and it becomes a personification of evil and threat. In Pastoureau’s book, various cultural changes in the wolf’s image are examined, along with many related stories and ancient tales about the insatiable predator.