La métamorphose illusoire : des théories chrétiennes de la métamorphose aux images médiévales du loup-garou

The Illusionary Metamorphosis : from Christian Theories of Metamorphoses to Medieval Images of the Werewolf The theme of animal metamorphosis, that is to say, of the passage from one kingdom of nature to another, offers in medieval literature privileged perspective of the game of opposition and interference, or better still, osmosis between the different cultural registers : Christian and pagan, learned and popular, Latin and vernacular. A theory of metamorphosis was developed in apologetic literature beginning above all in chapter of The City of God of Saint Augustine who interpreted metamorphosis as diabolic illusion. In comparison with these texts which recurred throughout the Middle Ages, narrative literature offered several instances which attest to the vitality of the belief in metamorphosis, especially that of werewolfs. Initially one believed in an opposition between clerical and profane culture. But the comparative study of accounts of werewolfs in medieval texts reveals on the contrary the influence of the clerical interpretation upon narratives presenting themselves as folkloric tales. The medieval tale of the werewolf constitutes a version of the tale type 449, "the dog of the Tsar", in which the hero is transformed into a wolf, and no longer a dog, by a treacherous wife. The story thus shifts from the marvelous to the magical, from pagan myth to demonic illusion. In fact, all literature in the Middle Ages offers the same rejection of the myth of metamorphosis.Harf-Lancner Laurence. La métamorphose illusoire : des théories chrétiennes de la métamorphose aux images médiévales du loup-garou. In: Annales. Economies, sociétés, civilisations. 40ᵉ année, N. 1, 1985. pp. 208-226