The story begins in Palermo (Palerne) when William is saved from his murderous uncle by a mysterious werewolf. When the werewolf crosses the Straits of Messina, he hides William in a den while he goes off to find food. On his return, he discovers that William has been found by a cowherd who looks after him for several years until the Emperor of Rome discovers him in the forest while out hunting and asks for William to come with him to Rome. Once in Rome, William is placed in the charge of Melior, the emperor’s daughter. As the pair grow older, they fall in love with each other, but the Roman emperor has already decided that Melior will marry the heir to the emperor of Greece. Melior and William elope; it becomes clear that they are protected by the mysterious werewolf who, through a series of adventures, leads William back to Palermo where his mother is besieged by the King of Spain. The story tells us that the werewolf is in fact the Spanish king’s son, transformed into a beast by the king’s second wife so that her own son could inherit the crown. Eventually, with William’s help, the Spanish forces are defeated, and the King of Spain eventually realises that the werewolf is his own son. He summons his wife from Spain who converts the werewolf back to being a prince. The romance concludes with William marrying Melior and the Werewolf (prince Alphonse) marries Florence, William’s sister. When the emperor of Rome dies, William becomes heir and ensure good government prevails throughout the empire. A touching moment is when he also remembers the cowherd from his youth and rewards him handsomely for bringing him up and teaching him about everyday life and people. 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, the poet shows how good government, equality and justice must form the bedrock of a properly functioning and fair society. 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. 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.