Difference between revisions of "Werewolf" - New World Encyclopedia
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[[Image:GermanWoodcut1722.jpg|thumb|200 px|German woodcut of a Werewolf from 1722]] | [[Image:GermanWoodcut1722.jpg|thumb|200 px|German woodcut of a Werewolf from 1722]] | ||
| − | A '''werewolf''' (also | + | A '''werewolf''' (also known as '''lycanthrope''' or '''wolfman''') in [[folklore]] is a person who [[shape-shifting|shape-shifts]] into a [[Gray Wolf|wolf]] or wolf-like creature, either purposely, by using [[magic (paranormal)|magic]], or after being placed under a [[curse]]. While in contemporary times a werewolf is a staple of horror genres and role-playing games, the werewolf phenomenon can be traced all the way back to shape-shifting practices of [[shaman]]s, and represents the duality of man as an [[animal]] and [[spiritual being]]. |
| − | The medieval chronicler [[Gervase of Tilbury]] associated the transformation with the appearance of the [[ | + | The [[Middle Ages|medieval]] chronicler [[Gervase of Tilbury]] associated the transformation with the appearance of the full [[moon]], but this concept was rarely associated with the werewolf until the idea was picked up by fiction writers. In popular culture, a werewolf can be killed if shot by a [[silver]] [[bullet]], although this was not a feature of the folk [[legend]]s.<ref> (1933) Summers, Montague ''The Werewolf in Lore and Legend'' ISBN 0-486-43090-1</ref> |
==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
| − | The term ''werewolf'' is [[German language|Germanic]] in origin. In Low German it is ''werwulf'', ''werwolf'' in Middle High German, before finally becoming ''wehrwolf'' in modern German. These original forms of the word directly influenced the [[Old English]] ''werewulf'', and the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''weerwolf''. <ref> (1971) | + | The term ''werewolf'' is [[German language|Germanic]] in origin. In Low German it is ''werwulf'', ''werwolf'' in Middle High German, before finally becoming ''wehrwolf'' in modern German. These original forms of the word directly influenced the [[Old English]] ''werewulf'', and the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''weerwolf''.<ref> (1971) ''The Oxford English Dictionary'' Oxford Press: Oxford ISBN 019861117X </ref>. |
| − | The term | + | The term "[[lycanthropy]]" is a combination of the [[Greek language|Greek]] roots ''lukos'', meaning [[wolf]], and ''anthropos'', meaning man. |
==Origin== | ==Origin== | ||
[[Image:Grey Wolf 3.jpg|thumb|left|A taxidermied Grey Wolf on display at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.]] | [[Image:Grey Wolf 3.jpg|thumb|left|A taxidermied Grey Wolf on display at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.]] | ||
| − | Belief in lycanthropy goes back to early tribal societies. [[ | + | Belief in lycanthropy goes back to early tribal societies. [[Shaman]]s and [[witch-doctors]] were believed to possess the ability to attune with nature, to the point that they could transform into [[animal]]s. Often these animals were [[quadra-pideal]], predatory animals, such as [[leopard]]s, [[jackal]]s, [[bear]]s, [[coyote]]s, and [[wolf|wolves]]. Wolves in particular came to have a significant relationship with humankind—since humans domesticated the wolf into the house-hold [[canine]] of today, an [[emotion]]al connection was bridged between the species. [[Dog]]s, and by extension their wolf ancestors, are commonly regarded as kindred spirits, since the early days when they were used as [[hunting]] companions, to this very day where they interact with humans in a variety of ways. It is therefore not surprising that this animal, singled out by humans at some point in history, would come to be used in one of the most popular and consistent folkloric beliefs. |
| − | The earliest accounts of | + | The earliest accounts of werewolves come from [[Eastern Europe]] and the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] area. The [[Greek mythology|Greek myth]] of [[Lycaon]] told of his transformation into a wolf as a result of eating human flesh. The Roman scholar, [[Pliny the Elder]], quoting [[Euanthes]] claimed that a man of Anthus' family was selected by lot and brought to a lake in [[Arcadia]], where he hung his clothing on an ash tree and swam across, resulting in his transformation into a wolf, a form in which he wandered for nine years. On the condition that he attacked no human being over the nine year period, he would be free to swim back across the lake to resume human form.<ref> Hamilton, Edith. ''Mythology'' (Back Bay Books, 1998 ISBN 0316341517)</ref> |
| + | |||
| + | According to [[Armenia]]n lore, there are women who in consequence of deadly sins, are condemned to spend seven years in wolf form.<ref>Gosh, Mkhitar. ''The Fables of Mkhitar Gosh'' (New York, 1987 ISBN 0935102213)</ref> In a typical account, a condemned woman is visited by a wolfskin-toting spirit, who orders her to wear the skin, soon after which she acquires frightful cravings for human flesh. With her better nature overcome, the she-wolf devours each of her own children, then her relatives' children in order of relationship, and finally the children of strangers. She wanders only at night, with doors and locks springing open at her approach. When morning arrives, she reverts to human form and removes her wolfskin. The transformation is generally said to be involuntary, but there are alternate versions involving voluntary metamorphosis, where the women can transform at will. | ||
[[Image:Werwolf.png|thumb|right|Werewolf, by [[Lucas Cranach der Ältere]], 1512]] | [[Image:Werwolf.png|thumb|right|Werewolf, by [[Lucas Cranach der Ältere]], 1512]] | ||
| − | Werewolves in later European traditions were often innocent and God-fearing folk suffering from the witchcraft of others, or simply from an unhappy fate, and who as wolves behaved in a truly touching fashion, adoring and protecting their human benefactors. In [[Marie de France]]'s poem ''[[Bisclaveret]]'' (c. 1200), the nobleman Bisclavret, for reasons not described | + | Werewolves in later European traditions were often innocent and God-fearing folk suffering from the [[witchcraft]] of others, or simply from an unhappy fate, and who as wolves behaved in a truly touching fashion, adoring and protecting their human benefactors. In [[Marie de France]]'s [[poem]] ''[[Bisclaveret]]'' (c. 1200), the nobleman Bisclavret, for reasons not described, had to transform into a wolf every week. When his treacherous wife stole his clothing needed to restore his human form, he escaped the king's wolf hunt by imploring the king for mercy, and accompanied the king thereafter. His behavior at court was so much gentler than when his wife and her new husband appeared at court, that his hateful attack on the couple was deemed justly motivated, and the truth was revealed. |
| − | + | Other tales of this sort include ''[[Guillaume de Palerme|William and the Werewolf]]'' (translated from French into English c. 1350), and the German [[fairy tale]]s ''Märchen'', in which several aristocrats temporarily transform into beasts. For example, in ''[[Snow White and Rose Red]]'' the tame [[bear]] is really a bewitched prince, and in ''[[The Golden Bird]]'' the talking [[fox]] is also a man. The power of transforming others into wild beasts was attributed not only to malignant [[sorcery|sorcerers]], but to [[Christian]] [[saint]]s as well: [[St. Thomas Aquinas]] believed that all [[angel]]s, including those that had fallen, possessed the ability to manipulate [[matter]]; [[St. Patrick]] was said to have transformed the [[Wales|Welsh]] king [[Vereticus]] into a wolf; [[St. Natalis]] supposedly cursed an illustrious Irish family whose members were each doomed to be a wolf for seven years. | |
| − | Some modern researchers have tried to use conditions such as [[rabies]], [[hypertrichosis]] (excessive hair growth over the entire body) or [[porphyria]] (an enzyme disorder with symptoms including | + | In Eastern Europe, particularly among the [[Slavic]], [[Slovak]], and [[Romani]] peoples, the idea of the werewolf evolved almost concurrently with the idea of the [[vampire]]. The belief in lycanthropy was prevalent in those areas, as was the belief in evil spirits of nature and Christian ideas of [[demon]]s and the [[devil]]. As with vampires, people were capable of being overtaken by such spirits and entities, or were cursed for something they had done, and those were transformed into werewolves.<ref name=time> ''Transformations'' (Time-Life Books 1989 ISBN 0809463644)</ref> It is from these beliefs that the common conception of the werewolf comes from. |
| + | |||
| + | Some modern researchers have tried to use conditions such as [[rabies]], [[hypertrichosis]] (excessive hair growth over the entire body), or [[porphyria]] (an [[enzyme]] disorder with symptoms including [[hallucination]]s and [[paranoia]]) to explain werewolf beliefs. [[Congenital erythropoietic porphyria]] has clinical features which include hairy hands and face, poorly healing skin, pink urine, reddish color to the teeth, and [[photosensitivity]]; which leads sufferers to only go out at night. There is also a rare [[mental disorder]] called [[clinical lycanthropy]], in which an affected person has a [[delusion]]al belief that he or she is, or has transformed into, an [[animal]], but not necessarily a wolf or werewolf. Supernatural lycanthropy myths could originate from people relating their experiences of what could be classified as a state of [[psychosis]].<ref name=time/> | ||
==Werewolf Lore== | ==Werewolf Lore== | ||
[[image:Painting Werewolfhead.jpg|thumb|Drawing of a werewolf head]] | [[image:Painting Werewolfhead.jpg|thumb|Drawing of a werewolf head]] | ||
| − | Historical legends describe a wide variety of methods for becoming a werewolf, one of the simplest being the removal of clothing and putting on a belt made of wolfskin, probably as a substitute for the assumption of an entire animal skin (which also is frequently described).<ref>Bennett, Aaron. “So, You Want to be a Werewolf?” | + | Historical legends describe a wide variety of methods for becoming a werewolf, one of the simplest being the removal of clothing and putting on a belt made of wolfskin, probably as a substitute for the assumption of an entire animal skin (which also is frequently described).<ref name=bennett>Bennett, Aaron. “So, You Want to be a Werewolf?” ''Fate''. Vol. 55, no. 6, Issue 627. July 2002.</ref> In other cases the body is rubbed with a magic salve.<ref name=bennett/> To drink water out of the footprint of the animal in question or to drink from certain enchanted streams were also considered effectual modes of accomplishing metamorphosis.<ref>O'Donnell, Elliot. ''Werewolves''. (Methuen. London. 1912. pp.65-67)</ref> Olaus Magnus says that the [[Livonia]]n werewolves were initiated by draining a cup of specially prepared beer and repeating a set formula. Ralston in his ''Songs of the Russian People'' gives the form of incantation still familiar in [[Russia]]. According to Russian lore, a child born on December 24 shall be a werewolf. Folklore and literature also depict that a werewolf can be spawned from two werewolf parents. |
| − | An interesting distinction is often made between voluntary and involuntary werewolves. The former are generally thought to have made a pact, usually with the Devil, and morph into werewolves at night to indulge in mischievous acts. Involuntary werewolves, on the other hand, are werewolves by an accident of birth or health. In some cultures, individuals born during a new moon or suffering from epilepsy were considered likely to be werewolves. | + | An interesting distinction is often made between voluntary and involuntary werewolves. The former are generally thought to have made a pact, usually with the [[Devil]], and morph into werewolves at night to indulge in mischievous acts. Involuntary werewolves, on the other hand, are werewolves by an accident of birth or health. In some cultures, individuals born during a new moon or suffering from [[epilepsy]] were considered likely to be werewolves. |
| − | Werewolves have several described weaknesses, the most common being an aversion to wolfsbane (a plant that supposedly sprouted from weeds watered by the drool of Cerberus while he was brought out of Hades by Heracles). Like | + | Werewolves have several described weaknesses, the most common being an aversion to [[wolfsbane]] (a [[plant]] that supposedly sprouted from weeds watered by the drool of [[Cerberus]] while he was brought out of [[Hades]] by [[Heracles]]). Like [[vampire]]s, werewolves maintain an aversion to [[religion|religious]] artifacts such as crucifixes and holy water. One of the lesser known weaknesses is [[silver]], as it is sometimes believed that a werewolf in human form will not transform when wearing a silver [[amulet]]. The repressive effect would be increased if the amulet were filled with wolfsbane. Stabbing with a silver dagger was believed to revert a werewolf to human form. |
| − | Various methods have existed for removing the werewolf form. The simplest method was the act of the enchanter (operating either on oneself or on a victim), and another was the removal of the animal belt or skin. To kneel in one spot for a hundred years, to be reproached with being a werewolf, to be saluted with the [[sign of the cross]], or addressed thrice by [[baptismal name]], to be struck three blows on the forehead with a knife, or to have at least three drops of blood drawn have also been mentioned as possible cures. Many European folk tales include throwing an iron object over or at the werewolf, to make it reveal its human form. | + | Various methods have existed for removing the werewolf form. The simplest method was the act of the enchanter (operating either on oneself or on a victim), and another was the removal of the animal belt or skin. To kneel in one spot for a hundred years, to be reproached with being a werewolf, to be saluted with the [[sign of the cross]], or addressed thrice by [[baptismal name]], to be struck three blows on the forehead with a knife, or to have at least three drops of [[blood]] drawn have also been mentioned as possible cures. Many European folk tales include throwing an [[iron]] object over or at the werewolf, to make it reveal its human form. |
| − | Becoming a werewolf simply by being bitten by another werewolf | + | Becoming a werewolf simply by being bitten by another werewolf is common in modern fiction, but rare in legend, in which werewolf attacks seldom left the victim alive long enough to transform. As a side note, the general belief that silver can be used to defend oneself against a werewolf comes from the story The ''Beast of Gévaudan'' from 1764 to 1767. A [[magician]] named Jean Chastel blessed a silver bullet with which he seriously wounded the werewolf. Even though the creature did not die, it had learned that silver had become a powerful tool to aid the humans. It should be noted that some researchers believe the "silver weakness" is a mistranslation of "silvered metal" which actually refers to quicksilver ([[mercury]]), an injection of which was deemed fatal to werewolves (and of course, to other living beings). However, because silver and the naturally nocturnal wolf are both associated with the moon, the "silver weakness" is likely to endure.<ref name=time/> |
==Literature and Pop Culture== | ==Literature and Pop Culture== | ||
| − | Werewolves have long been as popular a subject of horror and gothic works of fiction as | + | Werewolves have long been as popular a subject of horror and gothic works of fiction as [[vampire]]s, both mistaken being assumed as [[Eastern Europe]]an creations, particularly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Often depictions almost exclusively involve [[lycanthropy]] being either a hereditary condition or being transmitted like an infectious [[disease]] by the bite of another werewolf. The process of [[Shape-shifting|transmogrification]] is often portrayed as painful in [[film]] and [[literature]]. The resulting wolf is typically cunning but merciless, and prone to killing and eating people without compunction regardless of the moral character of its human counterpart. |
| − | More recently, the portrayal of werewolves has taken an even more sympathetic turn in some circles. With the rise of environmentalism and other back-to-nature ideals, the werewolf has come to be seen by some authors as a representation of humanity allied more closely with nature. Some recent fiction also discards the idea that the werewolf dominates the mind when one transforms, and instead postulates that the wolf form can be "used" at will, with the lycanthrope retaining its human thought processes and | + | |
| + | The form a werewolf assumes is not always that of an ordinary wolf, but often [[anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] or otherwise larger and more powerful than an ordinary wolf. Many modern werewolves are supposedly immune to damage caused by ordinary weapons, being vulnerable only to [[silver]] objects (usually a bullet or blade). This negative reaction to silver is sometimes so strong that the mere touch of the metal on a werewolf's skin will cause burns. | ||
| + | |||
| + | More recently, the portrayal of werewolves has taken an even more sympathetic turn in some circles. With the rise of [[environmentalism]] and other back-to-nature ideals, the werewolf has come to be seen by some authors as a representation of humanity allied more closely with nature. Some recent fiction also discards the idea that the werewolf dominates the mind when one transforms, and instead postulates that the wolf form can be "used" at will, with the lycanthrope retaining its human [[thought]] processes and [[intelligence]]. | ||
| − | A popular | + | A popular theme in werewolf literature is the metaphor of the werewolf as the duality for human nature; the wolf is sometimes seen as the wild [[animal]] that exists in all humans but is kept in check by the human, [[rationality|rational]] aspect. The full-[[moon]] transformations are symbolic of times when humans revert back to their primal roots. Sometimes the [[symbolism]] is not connected to nature, but represents the darker side of humankind that some suggest lives in everyone, but is normally suppressed by social constraints and [[morality]]. |
==Footnotes== | ==Footnotes== | ||
| − | |||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
| − | * | + | *Baring-Gould, Sabine. ''The Book of Were-Wolves: Being an Account of a Terrible Superstition''. London: Smith, Elder, 1865. ISBN 0-7661-8307-6 |
*Douglas, Adam. ''The Beast Within: A History of the Werewolf''. London: Chapmans, 1992. ISBN 0-380-72264-X | *Douglas, Adam. ''The Beast Within: A History of the Werewolf''. London: Chapmans, 1992. ISBN 0-380-72264-X | ||
*Prieur, Claude. ''Dialogue de la Lycanthropie: Ou transformation d'hommes en loups, vulgairement dits loups-garous, et si telle se peut faire''. Louvain: J. Maes & P. Zangre, 1596. (By a Franciscan monk, in French) | *Prieur, Claude. ''Dialogue de la Lycanthropie: Ou transformation d'hommes en loups, vulgairement dits loups-garous, et si telle se peut faire''. Louvain: J. Maes & P. Zangre, 1596. (By a Franciscan monk, in French) | ||
| − | *[[Montague Summers|Rev. Montague Summers]], ''The Werewolf'' London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1933. (1st edition, reissued 1934 New York: E.P. Dutton, 1966 New Hyde Park, N.Y: University Books, 1973 Secaucus, | + | *[[Montague Summers|Rev. Montague Summers]], ''The Werewolf'' London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1933. (1st edition, reissued 1934 New York: E.P. Dutton, 1966 New Hyde Park, N.Y: University Books, 1973 Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press, 2003 Mineola, NY: Dover, with new title ''The Werewolf in Lore and Legend''). Written by an individual claiming that werewolves are real, it is understandably filled with a number of bizarre conclusions but has an impressive bibliography. ISBN 0-7661-3210-2 |
| − | *Wolfeshusius, Johannes Fridericus. ''De Lycanthropia: An vere illi, ut fama est, luporum & aliarum bestiarum formis induantur. Problema philosophicum pro sententia Joan. Bodini ... adversus dissentaneas aliquorum opiniones noviter assertum...'' Leipzig: Typis Abrahami Lambergi, 1591. | + | *Wolfeshusius, Johannes Fridericus. ''De Lycanthropia: An vere illi, ut fama est, luporum & aliarum bestiarum formis induantur. Problema philosophicum pro sententia Joan. Bodini ... adversus dissentaneas aliquorum opiniones noviter assertum...'' Leipzig: Typis Abrahami Lambergi, 1591. |
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 00:02, 17 July 2007
A werewolf (also known as lycanthrope or wolfman) in folklore is a person who shape-shifts into a wolf or wolf-like creature, either purposely, by using magic, or after being placed under a curse. While in contemporary times a werewolf is a staple of horror genres and role-playing games, the werewolf phenomenon can be traced all the way back to shape-shifting practices of shamans, and represents the duality of man as an animal and spiritual being.
The medieval chronicler Gervase of Tilbury associated the transformation with the appearance of the full moon, but this concept was rarely associated with the werewolf until the idea was picked up by fiction writers. In popular culture, a werewolf can be killed if shot by a silver bullet, although this was not a feature of the folk legends.[1]
Etymology
The term werewolf is Germanic in origin. In Low German it is werwulf, werwolf in Middle High German, before finally becoming wehrwolf in modern German. These original forms of the word directly influenced the Old English werewulf, and the Dutch weerwolf.[2].
The term "lycanthropy" is a combination of the Greek roots lukos, meaning wolf, and anthropos, meaning man.
Origin
Belief in lycanthropy goes back to early tribal societies. Shamans and witch-doctors were believed to possess the ability to attune with nature, to the point that they could transform into animals. Often these animals were quadra-pideal, predatory animals, such as leopards, jackals, bears, coyotes, and wolves. Wolves in particular came to have a significant relationship with humankind—since humans domesticated the wolf into the house-hold canine of today, an emotional connection was bridged between the species. Dogs, and by extension their wolf ancestors, are commonly regarded as kindred spirits, since the early days when they were used as hunting companions, to this very day where they interact with humans in a variety of ways. It is therefore not surprising that this animal, singled out by humans at some point in history, would come to be used in one of the most popular and consistent folkloric beliefs.
The earliest accounts of werewolves come from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean area. The Greek myth of Lycaon told of his transformation into a wolf as a result of eating human flesh. The Roman scholar, Pliny the Elder, quoting Euanthes claimed that a man of Anthus' family was selected by lot and brought to a lake in Arcadia, where he hung his clothing on an ash tree and swam across, resulting in his transformation into a wolf, a form in which he wandered for nine years. On the condition that he attacked no human being over the nine year period, he would be free to swim back across the lake to resume human form.[3]
According to Armenian lore, there are women who in consequence of deadly sins, are condemned to spend seven years in wolf form.[4] In a typical account, a condemned woman is visited by a wolfskin-toting spirit, who orders her to wear the skin, soon after which she acquires frightful cravings for human flesh. With her better nature overcome, the she-wolf devours each of her own children, then her relatives' children in order of relationship, and finally the children of strangers. She wanders only at night, with doors and locks springing open at her approach. When morning arrives, she reverts to human form and removes her wolfskin. The transformation is generally said to be involuntary, but there are alternate versions involving voluntary metamorphosis, where the women can transform at will.
Werewolves in later European traditions were often innocent and God-fearing folk suffering from the witchcraft of others, or simply from an unhappy fate, and who as wolves behaved in a truly touching fashion, adoring and protecting their human benefactors. In Marie de France's poem Bisclaveret (c. 1200), the nobleman Bisclavret, for reasons not described, had to transform into a wolf every week. When his treacherous wife stole his clothing needed to restore his human form, he escaped the king's wolf hunt by imploring the king for mercy, and accompanied the king thereafter. His behavior at court was so much gentler than when his wife and her new husband appeared at court, that his hateful attack on the couple was deemed justly motivated, and the truth was revealed.
Other tales of this sort include William and the Werewolf (translated from French into English c. 1350), and the German fairy tales Märchen, in which several aristocrats temporarily transform into beasts. For example, in Snow White and Rose Red the tame bear is really a bewitched prince, and in The Golden Bird the talking fox is also a man. The power of transforming others into wild beasts was attributed not only to malignant sorcerers, but to Christian saints as well: St. Thomas Aquinas believed that all angels, including those that had fallen, possessed the ability to manipulate matter; St. Patrick was said to have transformed the Welsh king Vereticus into a wolf; St. Natalis supposedly cursed an illustrious Irish family whose members were each doomed to be a wolf for seven years.
In Eastern Europe, particularly among the Slavic, Slovak, and Romani peoples, the idea of the werewolf evolved almost concurrently with the idea of the vampire. The belief in lycanthropy was prevalent in those areas, as was the belief in evil spirits of nature and Christian ideas of demons and the devil. As with vampires, people were capable of being overtaken by such spirits and entities, or were cursed for something they had done, and those were transformed into werewolves.[5] It is from these beliefs that the common conception of the werewolf comes from.
Some modern researchers have tried to use conditions such as rabies, hypertrichosis (excessive hair growth over the entire body), or porphyria (an enzyme disorder with symptoms including hallucinations and paranoia) to explain werewolf beliefs. Congenital erythropoietic porphyria has clinical features which include hairy hands and face, poorly healing skin, pink urine, reddish color to the teeth, and photosensitivity; which leads sufferers to only go out at night. There is also a rare mental disorder called clinical lycanthropy, in which an affected person has a delusional belief that he or she is, or has transformed into, an animal, but not necessarily a wolf or werewolf. Supernatural lycanthropy myths could originate from people relating their experiences of what could be classified as a state of psychosis.[5]
Werewolf Lore
Historical legends describe a wide variety of methods for becoming a werewolf, one of the simplest being the removal of clothing and putting on a belt made of wolfskin, probably as a substitute for the assumption of an entire animal skin (which also is frequently described).[6] In other cases the body is rubbed with a magic salve.[6] To drink water out of the footprint of the animal in question or to drink from certain enchanted streams were also considered effectual modes of accomplishing metamorphosis.[7] Olaus Magnus says that the Livonian werewolves were initiated by draining a cup of specially prepared beer and repeating a set formula. Ralston in his Songs of the Russian People gives the form of incantation still familiar in Russia. According to Russian lore, a child born on December 24 shall be a werewolf. Folklore and literature also depict that a werewolf can be spawned from two werewolf parents.
An interesting distinction is often made between voluntary and involuntary werewolves. The former are generally thought to have made a pact, usually with the Devil, and morph into werewolves at night to indulge in mischievous acts. Involuntary werewolves, on the other hand, are werewolves by an accident of birth or health. In some cultures, individuals born during a new moon or suffering from epilepsy were considered likely to be werewolves.
Werewolves have several described weaknesses, the most common being an aversion to wolfsbane (a plant that supposedly sprouted from weeds watered by the drool of Cerberus while he was brought out of Hades by Heracles). Like vampires, werewolves maintain an aversion to religious artifacts such as crucifixes and holy water. One of the lesser known weaknesses is silver, as it is sometimes believed that a werewolf in human form will not transform when wearing a silver amulet. The repressive effect would be increased if the amulet were filled with wolfsbane. Stabbing with a silver dagger was believed to revert a werewolf to human form.
Various methods have existed for removing the werewolf form. The simplest method was the act of the enchanter (operating either on oneself or on a victim), and another was the removal of the animal belt or skin. To kneel in one spot for a hundred years, to be reproached with being a werewolf, to be saluted with the sign of the cross, or addressed thrice by baptismal name, to be struck three blows on the forehead with a knife, or to have at least three drops of blood drawn have also been mentioned as possible cures. Many European folk tales include throwing an iron object over or at the werewolf, to make it reveal its human form.
Becoming a werewolf simply by being bitten by another werewolf is common in modern fiction, but rare in legend, in which werewolf attacks seldom left the victim alive long enough to transform. As a side note, the general belief that silver can be used to defend oneself against a werewolf comes from the story The Beast of Gévaudan from 1764 to 1767. A magician named Jean Chastel blessed a silver bullet with which he seriously wounded the werewolf. Even though the creature did not die, it had learned that silver had become a powerful tool to aid the humans. It should be noted that some researchers believe the "silver weakness" is a mistranslation of "silvered metal" which actually refers to quicksilver (mercury), an injection of which was deemed fatal to werewolves (and of course, to other living beings). However, because silver and the naturally nocturnal wolf are both associated with the moon, the "silver weakness" is likely to endure.[5]
Literature and Pop Culture
Werewolves have long been as popular a subject of horror and gothic works of fiction as vampires, both mistaken being assumed as Eastern European creations, particularly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Often depictions almost exclusively involve lycanthropy being either a hereditary condition or being transmitted like an infectious disease by the bite of another werewolf. The process of transmogrification is often portrayed as painful in film and literature. The resulting wolf is typically cunning but merciless, and prone to killing and eating people without compunction regardless of the moral character of its human counterpart.
The form a werewolf assumes is not always that of an ordinary wolf, but often anthropomorphic or otherwise larger and more powerful than an ordinary wolf. Many modern werewolves are supposedly immune to damage caused by ordinary weapons, being vulnerable only to silver objects (usually a bullet or blade). This negative reaction to silver is sometimes so strong that the mere touch of the metal on a werewolf's skin will cause burns.
More recently, the portrayal of werewolves has taken an even more sympathetic turn in some circles. With the rise of environmentalism and other back-to-nature ideals, the werewolf has come to be seen by some authors as a representation of humanity allied more closely with nature. Some recent fiction also discards the idea that the werewolf dominates the mind when one transforms, and instead postulates that the wolf form can be "used" at will, with the lycanthrope retaining its human thought processes and intelligence.
A popular theme in werewolf literature is the metaphor of the werewolf as the duality for human nature; the wolf is sometimes seen as the wild animal that exists in all humans but is kept in check by the human, rational aspect. The full-moon transformations are symbolic of times when humans revert back to their primal roots. Sometimes the symbolism is not connected to nature, but represents the darker side of humankind that some suggest lives in everyone, but is normally suppressed by social constraints and morality.
Footnotes
- ↑ (1933) Summers, Montague The Werewolf in Lore and Legend ISBN 0-486-43090-1
- ↑ (1971) The Oxford English Dictionary Oxford Press: Oxford ISBN 019861117X
- ↑ Hamilton, Edith. Mythology (Back Bay Books, 1998 ISBN 0316341517)
- ↑ Gosh, Mkhitar. The Fables of Mkhitar Gosh (New York, 1987 ISBN 0935102213)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Transformations (Time-Life Books 1989 ISBN 0809463644)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bennett, Aaron. “So, You Want to be a Werewolf?” Fate. Vol. 55, no. 6, Issue 627. July 2002.
- ↑ O'Donnell, Elliot. Werewolves. (Methuen. London. 1912. pp.65-67)
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Baring-Gould, Sabine. The Book of Were-Wolves: Being an Account of a Terrible Superstition. London: Smith, Elder, 1865. ISBN 0-7661-8307-6
- Douglas, Adam. The Beast Within: A History of the Werewolf. London: Chapmans, 1992. ISBN 0-380-72264-X
- Prieur, Claude. Dialogue de la Lycanthropie: Ou transformation d'hommes en loups, vulgairement dits loups-garous, et si telle se peut faire. Louvain: J. Maes & P. Zangre, 1596. (By a Franciscan monk, in French)
- Rev. Montague Summers, The Werewolf London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1933. (1st edition, reissued 1934 New York: E.P. Dutton, 1966 New Hyde Park, N.Y: University Books, 1973 Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press, 2003 Mineola, NY: Dover, with new title The Werewolf in Lore and Legend). Written by an individual claiming that werewolves are real, it is understandably filled with a number of bizarre conclusions but has an impressive bibliography. ISBN 0-7661-3210-2
- Wolfeshusius, Johannes Fridericus. De Lycanthropia: An vere illi, ut fama est, luporum & aliarum bestiarum formis induantur. Problema philosophicum pro sententia Joan. Bodini ... adversus dissentaneas aliquorum opiniones noviter assertum... Leipzig: Typis Abrahami Lambergi, 1591.
External links
- Alby Stone. 1994. Arby Stones, "Hellhounds, Werewolves and the Germanic Underworld" Originally published in Mercian Mysteries No. 20 1994. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
- Werewolf Skeptic World Retrieved July 16, 2007.
- Allen Varney. 1995. "The New Improved Beast" Originally published in InQuest Wizard Press. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
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