Page 58 - All About History - Issue 186-19

interpretations of the werewolf by Christians, regions, began to spread in folklore popularity.
as evident in Saint Augustine’s The City Of God,
a fifth-century text that tells of the evils of men
who can change their form into beasts.
THE MYTH BUILDS
Beyond the ancient Greek and Roman texts,
Icelandic werewolf traditions appeared in the sagas
during the Viking Age (800-1050 CE), the literature
that told the fantastical history of Scandinavian
beliefs and religion. These texts combined the
werewolf tradition with their own berserker
legends: warriors would dress in the skins of
predatory animals to acquire animal instincts
and strength during battle. Berserkers had a
fearsome reputation. Aside from their displays
of superhuman strength and ferocity in battle,
they were known for their fits of rage, which were
uncontrollable and apparently spontaneous. The
traditions became intertwined and the werewolf
legends adopted some of the character traits of the
berserker, which is where we find the origins of
the violent frenzy of the werewolf.
It was in medieval Europe that the werewolf,
adopted into local legends and geographical
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his king as a ‘tame wolf’, attacks the knight and
Most of the information about the werewolf as his former wife, the king discovers the truth and
we know it today was created during the period forces the couple to return the clothes so that
that stretched from the fifth to the 15th centuries, Bisclavret’s human form may be restored. The
after the fall of the Roman Empire, and in the story proved to be very popular: for example,
midst of the spread of Christianity. Historically, the anonymous Melion from the 12th century
echoes the storyline, with a small difference:
during this period the werewolf becomes a blend
of myth and reality. Bisclavret, composed by Marie the wife uses a magic ring to transform her
“Aside from the displays of superhuman strength and ferocity
during battle, they were known for their fits of rage, which
were uncontrollable and apparently spontaneous”
de France in the 12th century and one of four husband into a wolf. The idea that a werewolf
major werewolf tales to be constructed in the transformation can be achieved by magic is carried
medieval period, tells the story of a werewolf who into the extensive 13th-century traditions of the
is an innocent victim of a treacherous woman. Norse, and in turn is integrated into the witchcraft
Bisclavret, a French baron beloved by the king, trials of the 16th century.
reveals to his wife that he is a werewolf, and
when he transforms he must retrieve his clothes THE WEREWOLF IN DEMONOLOGY
to change back into his human form. His wife,
frightened by this revelation, convinces a knight There was a significant number of people accused
to steal her husband’s clothes, stranding him in of ‘werewolfery’ in Europe during the Early
his wolf form. When the baron, who joins with Modern age, with a large concentration in France