David Williams (1939–2015) was an expert on

Medieval literature Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of t ...

, as well as a college professor and department chair at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

. He has authored several books.

Deformed Discourse

Williams's book ''Deformed Discourse: The Function of the Monster in Mediaeval Thought and Literature'' won the 1997 Raymond Klibansky Prize. In the book, "Williams explores the concept of monsters in the Middle Ages by examining its theological and philosophical roots and its symbolic function in mediaeval art and literature." This large book was a logical follow-up to his smaller 1982 book, ''Cain and Beowulf: A Study in Secular Allegory'', which draws on and elucidates the

Cain tradition In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the firstborn, was a farmer, and his brother Abel was a shepherd. The brothers made sacrifices, each from his own fields, to God. God had regard for Ab ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, David 1939 births 2015 deaths Canadian medievalists