About the Latin
Gerald of Wales, Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, was a cleric of the late twelfth century who wrote about the places he travelled through: Ireland in the Topographia Hibernica and the Expugnatio Hibernica, Wales in the Itinerarium Kambriae and the Descriptio Kambriae.
His Latin is medieval prose at its most readable: clear narrative that breaks off into argument whenever a marvel needs explaining. The werewolf chapter shows both sides of him. It is first a vivid story, then a careful theological discussion of whether a man in a wolf’s shape is still a man.
How hard is it?
Difficulty 6.6, intermediate.
Every reading in the library has a difficulty score, on a scale that runs from about 1 to 11. Beginner texts sit below 3.5 and Advanced texts above 6.8.
Most demanding here: Sentence length, Vocabulary variety, Rare vocabulary, Very rare vocabulary, Unseen vocabulary, Nonfinite constructions.
What you can read
The reading, each with help on every word.
Librorum Capsula currently offers one chapter of the Topographia Hibernica: the Werewolves of Ossory (Distinctio II, chapter XIX), complete.
Gerald and the Werewolves
A priest meets a talking werewolf in Ireland and discovers that the dying she-wolf beside him is a human woman—raising an extraordinary question about where human identity ends and animal form begins.
For the story itself, see The Werewolves of Ossory in Latin →
Where to start
Gerald and the Werewolves
It is Gerald’s most famous story and the only Gerald in the catalog so far. Open it and the reader gives you the Latin with a definition for every word, so you can read at the pace that suits you and look up only what you need.