When a Knight Meets a Dragon Maiden: Human Identity and the Monstrous Animal Other

Abstract

An examination of the character of the dragon maiden as she is found in medieval literature. This study combines two theories, Monster Theory and Animal Theory, in examining the meaning of the dragon maiden's animal-human hybrid body. It will be shown that this monster has meaning, not only within the context of the literary texts in which she is found, but also within the wider context of ideas about the boundaries between humans and animals in the medieval world and chivalric literature.