SOURCE: "The Lay of the Werewolf" (aka "Bisclavaret") (12th Century) by Marie de France

DESCRIPTION: "It is a certain thing, and within the knowledge of all, that many a christened man has suffered this change, and ran wild in woods, as a Were-Wolf.  The Were-Wolf is a fearsome beast.  He lurks within the thick forest, mad and horrible to see.  All the evil that he may, he does.  He goeth to and fro, about the solitary place, seeking man, in order to devour him.  Hearken, now, to the adventure of the Were-Wolf, that I have to tell."

PLOT: A lord who is afflicted with lycanthropy tells his unfaithful wife that if he lost his clothing he would remain in wolf form. the wife steals his clothing and he is trapped in wolf form for years. The wolf befriends the king and is saved when the king forces the wife to return the clothing.

WEREWOLF FACTS: The werewolf in this story must be very careful to hide his clothing for without it he can not return to human form. Unlike the werewolf in The Satyricon he does not piss around the clothing and turn it into stone. This is the werewolf's greatest vulnerability.

INTERESTING FACTS: The plot of this story is very similar to the story within the story in "Arthur and Gorgolan" (from the same century). In this case it is clothing and not a magical branch which does the transformation.