The Symbolism of the Wolf in England

         

           Literature was a powerful tool in Medieval England to share stories amongst a community about the nation’s historical past, present issues, and future predictions. In order for an author to grab the attention of the audience, a simpler story was told, where objects and animals represented different aspects of the nation. 

            Wolves were prevalent in England during the medieval era and the large population lead to hunting them down, Regan Walker describes. Wolf hounds became a popular prize to give others as royal gift, leading them to be a symbol of power and wealth. It was said that, as for wolves, they are neither recognized as beasts of the forest or of venery, and therefore if a person kills any of them, they will forever be out of all danger. 

            Wolves were also known to devour people and livestock, bringing upon fear to the nation, Tim Flight states. Wolves represented a tiny fraction of both domestic and wild animal. Wolves were rarely encounter in human settlements and prefer to live in uncultivated wilderness, and only live elsewhere out of necessity. The wolf’s role is common in literary and religious references, they appear to be an allegory of spiritual danger. Allegories such as this cemented a reputation for the wolf as the enemy of the nation, a danger both both the soul and earthly prosperity, yet there have yet to be proof that the wolf ever was a danger in Medieval England. This fear of the wolf may have been formed from the earlier references in the Bible, which was written in a nation more prone to attack. 

            Wolves are also described to not only define wilderness by their presence, but to actively maintain it by manifesting the opposition to man, according to Tim Flight. The wolf’s symbol influenced an Anglo- Saxon law, where people outlawed for committing a heinous crime were called wulfheafod, which translates to wolfs head. They could be killed lawfully by anyone without fear of retribution. 

            Folk tales were a widely practiced form of literature in Medieval England, where a wolf would take on a sinister and threatening persona, according to Lisa Jesse. Wolves become greater enemies of people, rather than a predator. The actions of the people in the fairy tales to hunt down the wolf is always violent, and it is socially acceptable call of action, it is portrayed as the right thing to do in order to get “revenge on the wolf”. Wolves have been consistently singled out as a villain in Medieval Literature, even though there is no valid reasoning behind this. 

            The wolf is a symbol of many things in Medieval England, but the one part that is in common with all perception of the wolf, is that the wolf should be killed, and the huntsman is a hero. Wolves have a history in English literature to be the bad guy, even though they are wild creatures who prefer being in solitaire.

Herbal Remedy for Disease in Medieval England

Source: Herbal Remedy

As disease was common in Medieval England, the Anglo-Saxons looked for ways to heal those with illnesses or diseases in which they used herbal remedies and poetic charms, known as the Nine Herbs Charm. The Anglo-Saxons created medical books in order to be able to quickly find remedies from certain plants in which would heal those with the disease -- this was the most effective use of healing as these texts were structured with a content list which cites the plant chapters and provides a list of symptoms that the specific plant supplies remedies for, as said by Linda E. Voigts.

It is brought up in question, though, by Voigts of the availability of plants discussed in these remedy books due to the impact of climate change and the commercial trade and exchange in Medieval England, but despite the fact that it has been implied that medieval medicine may have been theoretical it was said to be quite useful as “We have learned that early medieval medicine -- monastic, ecclesiastical, and in some instances, lay -- was pragmatic, empirical, and sometimes efficacious,” (Voigts, 254). Several different herbs served many purposes in terms of its use in medicine and the healing or treatment of diseases, where some were more widely-known in the medieval world depending on their healing and therapeutic purposes.

According to Jerry Stannard, there was more of a reliance placed on plants that had these therapeutic purposes and a large portion of medical care in this medieval time can be described as herbalistic. As many of these plants were used in rituals based off of their characteristics and symbolism, Stannard goes on to explain that “Even if a locally available plant lacked a traditional symbol, it could be invested with magical, indeed, miraculous properties by the appropriate ceremony,” (Stannard, 48). It is clear to see that the Anglo-Saxons heavily relied on these plants and their remedies to heal the sick or diseased as they even performed rituals and ceremonies by using ‘magic’ and giving the plant symbolism.

Anglo-Saxons created poetic charms as well, including magic language, which was a large part of their culture as these charms and words were used to heal disease and care for animals. The main idea, by connecting magic and medical science, was to treat diseases while much of the effort in healing diseases originated from this magic langage and the use of these texts. Paola Tornaghi said that in magic texts words becomes symbols where the speaker is able to manipulate reality and the spell represents that act of using these magic words to affect the reality.

It was believed that these words had more strength and power than words in normal text as well, supposedly having an instant effect the minute they were said. In addition to magic, witchery was a practice widespread among women as well in order for them to express themselves more freely. Through poetic charms and the magic language, it was believed that these words had a true effect on the healing of diseases.