[garulf] (c.1165)

[garulf] (c.1165)

  FEW:  *werwolf *17,569b Gdf:  garol 4,236c GdfC:  garou 9,687c TL: garol 4,195 DEAF:  garol G334 DMF:  garou  TLF:  garou 1  OED: MED: DMLBS:  gerulfus 1071c / werwolfus 3736b
garvalf,  garval,  garwaf  

DMLBS has two entries for what is perhaps the same word, each with only one supporting citation: for gerulfus, Gervase of Tilbury’s definition from 1215: ‘vidimus enim frequenter in Anglia per lunationes homines in lupos mutari, quod hominum genus gerulfos (var.: verulos) Galli nominant, Anglici vero werewulf dicunt. were enim Anglice virum sonat, wlf lupum’ (Otia Imperialia I,15); and for werwolfus, the late (1480-1490) Digby Plays line: ‘fartum cardiculorum … snyguer snagoer werwolfforum’. Gerulfus is important for Romance philologists (cf. DEAF G334 garol [Möhren]; FEW 17,571a) because it confirms the possibly corrupt readings in Marie de France. Both FEW and TL reconstruct a form [garulf], which is plausible but of course unattested. The main point though is that both Marie and Gervase confirm that the form gerulfus/*garulf is French (specifically Norman in Marie’s case). Werwolfus with initial w- is explicitly English.

s.

1mythologicalwerewolf, lycanthrope, man who changes into a wolf at night
( c.1165; MS: s.xiii2 )  Bisclavret ad nun en bretan, Garwaf l'apelent li Norman  4
( c.1165; MS: s.xiii2 )  Hume plusur garval devindrent E es boscages meisun tindrent  7
( c.1165; MS: s.xiii2 )  Garvalf, ceo est beste salvage; Tant cum il est en cele rage, Hummes devure  61.9
This is an AND2 Phase 2 (F-H) entry. © 2006-2008 The Anglo-Norman Dictionary. All rights reserved. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council of the United Kingdom.
garulf