Mythical Britain is the home of Michael Smith - author, printmaker, translator and performer of medieval romances

The Romance of William and the Werewolf is a medieval epic romance about two princes deprived of their inheritance.

 

When William as a boy is on the verge of being murdered by a jealous uncle, a Werewolf appears to snatch him away. We learn later that the Werewolf is a Spanish prince who has been converted to a wild creature by his jealous stepmother.

 

In revealing how William and the Werewolf overcome their troubles to reclaim their rightful inheritance, the medieval poet introduces us to a wide range of themes still familiar to us in today's unfair and unequal world. Through his story, he shows how good government, equality and justice must form the bedrock of a properly functioning and fair society.

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The story, originally written in French in the twelfth century, was transcribed into Middle English in c. 1350 by a scribe working for Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford and Essex. It is one of the earliest texts from the fourteenth century Alliterative Revival.

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As with my other works, The Romance of William and the Werewolf is richly illustrated with specially-created linocut prints and contains a detailed historical introduction as well as appendices on the role of the narrator and elements of the text from the original Old French source.

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Summary of Contents:

Historical Introduction

A Summary of the Romance

A Note on the Translation

The translation of William and the Werewolf

Notes

Appendices

Some Further Reading

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About the publisher

Unbound is a crowdfunding publisher, with authors including the BBC presenter Jonathan Meades, the film director Mike Hodges (Get Carter, Flash Gordon) and the Sunday Times best-selling author, Tom Cox, amongst many others.