The werewolf narrative and the motif of physical transformation in Celtic literature and Arthurian tradition

This article examines a popular Indo-European story about a werewolf explored in the context of the Arthurian myth. The sources include the 14th-century Latin medieval tale “Arthur and Gorlagon” along with later Irish variants (c. 18c): «An Cloidheamh Soluis agus Fios Fáth an Aon Sgeil ar na Mnáibh» (The Shining Sword and the Knowledge of the Cause of the One Story about Women) and the English-language text “Morraha” (Morrachа). The study notes that texts and the werewolf narrative have received insufficient attention within the Russian school of Arthurian and Celtic literary studies. For the first time, the study provides a comparative analysis of the werewolf myth in Irish and Welsh literature using the example of the texts of the “scél” and Pedair Cainc y Mabinogi (14c). The aim is to propose and substantiate the hypothesis that the genesis of the Gorlagon plot lies within Celtic tradition. The article also explores the onomastics and etymology of the names, though the primary focus remains on the figures of Arthur and Gorlagon and their transformation within Irish literary tradition.

1. Loomis, R.S. (1927), Celtic myth and Arthurian romance, Columbia University Press, New York, USA.

2. Sims-Williams, P. (2011), Irish influence on medieval Welsh literature, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.