To understand the werewolf phenomenon, it is very important to trace how the image of the wolf-man has changed over time.
Like any other monster, werewolves have an impressive history that goes back to prehistoric times, and its different aspects are reflected in almost every corner of the world.
We find obscure echoes of this tradition in legends and legends in the ancient homeland of the first Indo-Europeans, where the southern part of Russia is now located. When the era of great migration began more than three thousand years ago, the nomadic tribes took away their knowledge of Wolf Magic.
Some of them went to Europe, where the Celtic, Germanic, Italic, Greek, Slavic and Baltic peoples gradually formed. Other Indo-European tribes settled in Asia, Persia and most of northern India, scattered across the Asian steppes, and founded the Hittite empire in today's Turkey.
The original form of this ancient tradition is unknown to anyone today, there are only many guesses. It is believed that young warriors, thirsting for initiation, went into the wild and lived like wolves: they wore skins and ate raw meat. If they successfully passed such a test of strength and courage, then the elders of the tribe revealed to them the secrets of the ancient Magic of Wolves.
Apparently, even in those days, wolf warriors were treated ambiguously. The clue to this can be found in the legends of bear magic, which left its mark even in English (for example, the modern word berserk, which translates as "violent man, beast", goes back to this tradition).
The fact is that in many sources of later times it is mentioned that such warriors too often did not control their animal instincts and were distinguished by terrible cruelty. The ancient Indo-European word vark ("wolf") can be traced in many daughter languages of the Indo-European family: in Sanskrit - vrikas, in Old Persian - varka, Germanic - warg, Old Norse - vargr, Old Slavic - velku, Hittite - hirkas. All these words have two meanings: "wolf" and "criminal, outlaw, wild beast."
Promotional video:
In many historical sources, references to the ancient magic of wolves are also often found. The names of many tribal groups of Indo-Europeans are translated as "people of the wolf". The Greek historian Herodotus mentions a nomadic tribe, the Neura, in which each person once a year turned into a wolf for several days.
Another tribe, which is mentioned in ancient Persian legends, was called haomavarga, which literally means "cat-wolves".
Soma is a ritual intoxicating drink that is mentioned many times in Sanskrit and ancient Persian texts. Apparently, the connection between transforming a wolf and using an intoxicating drink is far from coincidental.
In full measure, however, Indo-European wolf magic appears in Old Norse sources. Basically, such legends have survived in Iceland, where even after the arrival of Christianity, the monks were proud of their native culture and traditions and recorded the old sagas intact. Some of these poems date back to ancient times, for example, The Völsunga Saga is based in part on historical events that took place long before the fall of Rome.
The constant motive of these legends is the transformation of people into animals. Many warrior heroes were werewolves, and their adventures and exploits in the form of a beast are one of the main plots of folklore legends. Despite the fact that the wolf and the bear are the most popular images, swan, otter, salmon and other animals are also mentioned in the Old Norse legends about transformations.
It is also worth paying attention to how the warriors manifested themselves, changing their appearance. One of the sources tells the story of Bedvar Bjarki, one of the warriors of Hrolf Kraka, king of Denmark. During the last battle of the king, Bedvar disappeared somewhere, and for a long time he was nowhere to be seen.
However, the people saw the huge bear rush into battle, ahead of King Hrolf's men. He fought like a madman, striking the warriors and horses of the enemy.
One of Bedvar's friends finally saw him sitting motionless in his tent and lifted him up; at that very moment, the bear suddenly disappeared from sight.
More often, however, werewolf warriors were personally present on the battlefield, although they fought in much the same way as Bedvar's ghost bear. In the XIII century. Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson in his "Yngling Saga" wrote: "… these fearless warriors without chain mail rushed into battle and fought desperately, like dogs or wolves, smashing their shields to smithereens. They were as strong as bears or bulls, and they fended off people like insects. It seemed that they were not afraid of either fire or iron. " This is exactly what is called "breaking the chain."
The emerging concept of "fighting like a beast" apparently fell out of use with the growing influence of Christianity in Europe. By the time the Renaissance came to replace the Middle Ages, some of the old traditions survived only in isolated rural areas of Western Europe.
Up to 1500 BC werewolves have been reported from the highlands of Germany and southern France. In later times, werewolf activity seems to have declined. Eastern Europe is a completely different story, and there are many historical reasons for this. In some areas of the Balkan Peninsula, the ancient magic of wolves, apparently, persisted for a long time, and it is quite possible that it is still alive.