Lydia Zeldenrust

I am a medievalist whose research often moves into the Renaissance period. My research typically takes a comparative, transnational approach, as I am interested in how stories and texts travel across borders, and what cross-cultural networks lie behind such movements. My publications to date approach these issues mainly through a focus on translation and adaptation, where I also pay attention to processes of the making and circulation of manuscripts and early printed books. Further interests include medieval romances, Arthurian literature, and literary representations of animals, monsters, and the supernatural.

My current work in progress is a book on the romance of Melusine, which examines how the exciting story of a woman who becomes a half-serpent every Saturday transformed from a local legend to an early European bestseller.